Read about Katalin Karikó net worth, age, husband, children, height, family, parents, salary and career as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Katalin Karikó is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in ribonucleic acid (RNA)-mediated mechanisms, particularly in vitro-transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein replacement therapy. Karikó laid the scientific groundwork for mRNA vaccines against major obstacles and skepticism in the scientific community, for which she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023.
Karikó co-founded and was CEO of RNARx from 2006 to 2013. Since 2013, she has been associated with BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, first as a vice president and promoted to senior vice president in 2019. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She later became a professor at the University of Szeged in Hungary.
Her work includes scientific research on RNA-mediated immune activation, resulting in the co-discovery with American immunologist Drew Weissman of the nucleoside modifications that suppress the immunogenicity of RNA. This is seen as a further contribution to the therapeutic use of mRNA. Together with Weissman, she holds United States patents for the application of non-immunogenic, nucleoside-modified RNA. This technology has been licensed by BioNTech and Moderna to develop their protein replacement technologies, but it was also used for their COVID-19 vaccines.
For their mRNA-related work, Karikó and Weissman have received many awards, including the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, Time Magazine’s Hero of the Year 2021, and the Tang Prize Award in Biopharmaceutical Science in 2022.
Early life
| Name | Katalin Karikó |
| Net Worth | $3 million |
| Occupation | Biochemist |
| Age | 68 years |
| Height | 1.70m |
Katalin Karikó was born on January 17, 1955 (age 68 years) in Szolnok, Hungary. Karikó grew up in Kisújszállás, Hungary, in a small home without running water, a refrigerator, or a television. Her father was a butcher, and her mother was a bookkeeper. She excelled in science during her primary education, earning third place in the country in a biology competition.
Karikó obtained a B.Sc. degree in biology in 1978 and her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1982, both from the University of Szeged. She continued her postdoctoral research at the Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre of Hungary. From 1978 until 1985, she was listed as an agent for the Hungarian secret police, a task she says she was blackmailed into out of fear of repercussions on her career or reprisals against her father.
In 1985, the lab lost its funding, and she left Hungary for the United States with her husband and 2-year-old daughter. When immigrating to the US, they smuggled in £900 in a teddy bear, money that they had received from selling their car and buying British pounds on the black market.
Career
Between 1985 and 1988, while serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Temple University in Philadelphia and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, (88–89), Karikó participated in a clinical trial in which patients with AIDS, hematologic diseases, and chronic fatigue syndrome were treated with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). At the time, this was considered groundbreaking research, as the molecular mechanism of interferon induction by dsRNA was not known, although the antiviral and antineoplastic effects of interferon were well-documented.
Katalin Karikó was hired by the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and worked with cardiologist Elliot Barnathan on Messenger RNA (mRNA). In 1990, while an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, Karikó submitted her first grant application in which she proposed establishing mRNA-based gene therapy. Ever since mRNA-based therapy has been Karikó’s primary research interest.
Karikó was on track to become a full professor, but grant rejections led to her being demoted by the university in 1995. She stayed on, and in 1997, she met Drew Weissman, a professor of immunology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her persistence was noted as exceptional against the norms of academic research work conditions.
Her key insight came about when she focused on why transfer RNA, used as a control in an experiment, did not provoke the same immune reaction as mRNA. Their key finding of a chemical modification of mRNA to render it non-immunogenic was rejected by the journals Nature and Science but eventually accepted by the publication Immunity.
In a series of articles beginning in 2005, Karikó and Weissman described how specific nucleoside modifications in mRNA led to a reduced immune response. They founded a small company, and in 2006 and 2013 received patents for the use of several modified nucleosides to reduce the antiviral immune response to mRNA. Soon afterward, the university sold the intellectual property license to Gary Dahl, the head of a lab supply company that eventually became Cellscript. Weeks later, Flagship Pioneering, the venture capital company backing Moderna, contacted her to license the patent. All Karikó said was, “We don’t have it.”
In 2006, Katalin Karikó reached out to biochemist Ian MacLachlan to work with him on the chemically altered mRNA. Initially, MacLachlan and Tekmira turned away from the collaboration. Karikó wanted to team up with Ian MacLachlan because he was the leader of a team that helped advance mRNA technology. Karikó was working on establishing the formulated lipid nanoparticle delivery system that encapsulates mRNA in a dense particle through a mixing process.
In early 2013, Katalin Karikó heard of Moderna’s $240 million deal with AstraZeneca to develop a Vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA. Karikó realized that she would not get a chance to apply her experience with mRNA at the University of Pennsylvania, so she took a role as vice president at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals (and subsequently became a senior vice president in 2019).
Her research and specializations include messenger RNA-based gene therapy, RNA-induced immune reactions, molecular bases of ischemic tolerance, and treatment of brain ischemia. The work and research of Karikó laid the foundation for BioNTech and Moderna to create therapeutic mRNAs that do not induce an immune response. In 2020, Karikó and Weissman’s technology was also used in vaccines for COVID-19 produced by Pfizer (developed by BioNTech) and by Moderna.
The Messenger RNA-based technology developed by Karikó and the two most effective vaccines based on it, BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna, have formed the basis for the effective and successful fight against SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide and have contributed significantly to the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, Karikó was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her research into messenger RNA. On 2 October 2023, it was announced that she will be awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Drew Weissman. Karikó has received more than 110 international awards and honors for her pioneering and globally significant work in biochemistry.
Husband
Is Katalin Karikó married? Katalin Karikó is a married woman and has a child with her husband. Her husband Béla Francia is a private person and together they have a daughter, Susan Francia. As of September 2023, Katalin Karikó and her husband Francia are still married.
Katalin Karikó net worth
How much is Katalin Karikó worth? Katalin Karikó net worth is estimated at around $3 million. Her main source of income is from her primary work as a biochemist. Katalin Karikó’s salary per month and other career earnings are over $400,000 dollars annually. Her remarkable achievements have earned her some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy car trips. She is one of the richest and most influential biochemists from Hungary. She stands at an appealing height of 1.70m and has a good body weight which suits her personality.