12 1 / 2023 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS
“ Unbelievable how flexible this method is ”
Leopoldina Member Katalin Karikó will give the evening lecture at the Life Science Symposium of Class II .
Katalin Karikó has been a member of the Leopoldina since 2022 . On 19 April , she will give a public evening lecture in Halle ( Saale )/ Germany . She recognised at an early stage the potential of synthetically produced mRNA for the treatment of immunological and oncological diseases and of vaccine development .
Your expertise is in messenger RNA , or mRNA . What does this molecule do ? Katalin Karikó : Messenger RNA is a molecule which is present in almost every cell of our body . It carries information from the DNA to the cell ’ s protein synthesis factory and tells it what to do . It ’ s a short-lived molecule that usually degrades quickly – you can find dinosaur DNA but not dinosaur mRNA .
Today we know that if you can manipulate mRNA you can get a cell to make almost any protein . But when you started out you had problems getting people excited about that . Karikó : In 1990 the Human Genome Project started , so everybody was working with DNA . And when I said for most of the people you don ’ t need to change their genes permanently , sometimes you just need to make some molecule for a therapy , people didn ’ t see that and felt sorry for me .
You even got demoted by your employer , the University of Pennsylvania ? Karikó : You are never bringing in money , they said . Now they wouldn ’ t say that .
When did you get in contact with BioN Tech , the German biotech company ? Karikó : I met the founder , Uğur Şahin , in the summer of 2013 when I gave a lecture in Mainz / Germany . And he offered me the position of vice president .
What kind of applications did you work on at BioNTech ? Karikó : We were interested in treating
Katalin Karikó ML
Adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania / USA
and former Senior Vice President of BioNTech SE in Mainz / Germany . She has been a member of the Leopoldina since 2022 .
Image : Vilcek Foundation / MHamiltonVisualse
cancer patients . My first project was to develop a method to inject mRNA into tumors in order to attract immune cells that would attack that tumor . Not really a vaccination , but a way to mobilize an immune reaction .
Did you think that this would be applied in patients any time soon ? Karikó : Every scientist wants to see their work benefitting somebody sooner or later . But I didn ’ t know if I would live long enough to see that .
That changed when BioNTech got together with Pfizer to develop an mRNA based flu vaccine . Karikó : Yes , and in January 2020 while we were working on that Uğur Şahin read about a virus that infected people in China . And he thought immediately that some people who were infected but not sick would spread it across the globe .
How much work was it to adapt your mRNA technology to that new virus ? Karikó : If I had the tools here I could do that in ten minutes . The spike protein of the virus had already been published , so it was easy . It is unbelievable how flexible and how quick this method is .
The rest is history . How did you get your Covid shot ? Karikó : I had been stuck in Philadelphia since the outbreak of the pandemic , so in December 2020 the University of Pennsylvania organized a public event where my collaborator Drew Weissman and I received our shot in front of the cameras .
Why did you leave BioNTech last year ? Karikó : I had originally planned to be there for two years , then it turned out to be nine . And now I give many talks and receive awards . In the past I sometimes attended lectures of a famous scientist that was not really up to date about the literature – I don ‘ t want to be like that . So reading is one of my main jobs .
Do you also give talks to young people ? Karikó : When I received the Gairdner Award in Canada last year there were 300 high school students . We have to inspire this next generation , less and less people want to be in science . We have to tell them it ’ s hard work , but it ’ s like detective work – when you find the solution of the puzzle it ’ s so exciting . It ’ s not about being in the spotlight .
What does it mean for you to be part of Leopoldina ? Karikó : I read about the history of the Academy , all these outstanding scientists , and I thought : oh my god , now I belong to this group of highly esteemed people . That touches you .
■ THE INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED BY CHRISTOPH DRÖSSER
Life Science Symposium