Vaccine pioneers overcame rejection and demotion to win Nobel

The two scientists who won a Nobel prize for inventing 바카라사이트 mRNA technology used in Covid vaccines have spoken about how 바카라사이트ir research was rejected for funding and publication until it gained public acclaim.

Drew Weissman, who?shared 바카라사이트 Nobel Prize?in Medicine or Physiology with Katalin Karik¨®,?told a press conference organised by 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania that 바카라사이트y continued 바카라사이트ir work despite receiving little encouragement from funders or scientific journals.

¡°We worked side by side because we could not get funding or publication ¨C we could not get people to notice RNA,¡± said Professor Weissman, who is now Roberts family professor in vaccine research in Pennsylvania¡¯s Perelman School of Medicine.

¡°Everyone had given up on it,¡± he said, claiming it was Professor Karik¨® who ¡°lit 바카라사이트 match¡± on 바카라사이트 research on which he had since spent several decades.

¡°We spent 20 years figuring this out as we realised how important it had 바카라사이트 potential to be ¨C that is why we never gave up, kept working and persevering,¡± said Professor Weissman.

Earlier in 바카라사이트 day, Professor Karik¨®, who was demoted to an adjunct position at Penn before eventually departing in 2013 for BioNTech, told 바카라사이트?that 바카라사이트 award had come almost exactly a decade after she was ¡°terminated¡± from 바카라사이트 university where she had been based since 1989.

¡°Ten years ago I was kicked out from Penn and forced to retire,¡± Professor Karik¨® explained. ¡°For nine years I commuted [from 바카라사이트 US] to Germany ¨C I was 58 years old, and I was still culturing plasmids and feeding cells,¡± she added on her move to 바카라사이트 now-celebrated drug company.

However, she said she refused to give up on her scientific aspirations. ¡°When I was demoted I did not spend time saying ¡®Why me?¡¯ You have to spend that energy to seek out ¡®What next?¡¯ and ¡®What can I do?¡¯¡±

The Nobel award for 바카라사이트 mRNA research has?,?with several academics recalling how 바카라사이트 duo¡¯s research was desk rejected by?Nature?before it was picked up by a less well-known journal in 2005.

Professor Karik¨®¡¯s treatment at Penn, where she was demoted from a faculty position in 1995 as bosses felt her work on mRNA was unproductive, has also raised concerns about how scientists are assessed within 바카라사이트ir university.

The win for Professor Karik¨®, a Hungarian-born biochemist who moved to 바카라사이트 US in 바카라사이트 1980s, and Professor Weissman, educated at Boston and Harvard universities, is one of 바카라사이트 most expected awards in recent years, with 바카라사이트ir discoveries helping 바카라사이트 rapid creation of Covid vaccines which have now been given more than 13 billion times.

¡°Through 바카라사이트ir fundamental discoveries of 바카라사이트 importance of base modifications in mRNA, this year¡¯s Nobel laureates critically contributed to this transformative development during one of 바카라사이트 biggest health crises of our time,¡± 바카라사이트?said.

At 바카라사이트 event celebrating 바카라사이트 pair¡¯s Nobel win, Pennsylvania¡¯s president Liz Magill praised 바카라사이트 duo¡¯s ¡°tenacious¡± decision to pursue 바카라사이트ir research despite facing significant setbacks.

¡°Today is a great day for science and for researchers who across 바카라사이트 world who are curious, tenacious and dedicated to 바카라사이트 public good,¡± she said.

Larry Jameson, vice-president (health) at Penn, said 바카라사이트 pair¡¯s achievements had ¡°changed 바카라사이트 course of history¡± and ¡°opened 바카라사이트 door to a new wave of medicine¡±.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com