Nobel Prize Winners Dr. Katalin Karikó and Dr. Drew Weissman | The Story Behind mRNA Vaccines

Penn Medicine
2 Oct 202305:06
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe script narrates the dynamic collaboration between two scientists with contrasting personalities, one talkative and the other scientific. They recount their journey from initial meetings over journal articles to groundbreaking work on RNA, which led to the development of mRNA vaccines. Their open-mindedness and relentless pursuit of understanding led to significant contributions to the vaccine field, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The narrative highlights their excitement, the challenges, and the joy of making a difference in public health, as well as their ongoing commitment to advancing science for the betterment of humanity.

Takeaways
  • 🤝 The speakers have complementary personalities and approaches to work, with one being talkative and bubbling, and the other more scientific and methodical.
  • 📚 They met while photocopying journal articles, which led to discussions about their respective research and eventually collaboration.
  • 🧬 Initially, one was working with RNA and learned immunology from the other, leading to a joint focus on understanding RNA's inflammatory properties.
  • 🔬 They were both open-minded and persistent, conducting experiments and analyzing data together, even at odd hours, to make sense of their findings.
  • 🌟 They discovered how to make RNA non-inflammatory, which was a significant breakthrough that led to broader applications in the vaccine field.
  • 🦠 Their work was initially aimed at creating new vaccines, not specifically targeting pandemics, but their research became highly relevant with the emergence of COVID-19.
  • 🛑 Prior to the pandemic, they had already been working on five Phase 1 clinical trials for different mRNA vaccines, showcasing the foresight of their research.
  • 💉 Moderna had tested an mRNA influenza vaccine two years before COVID-19, indicating that mRNA vaccine technology was already in development.
  • 🎉 The success of the vaccine in protecting people from the virus brought immense joy to the speakers, emphasizing the impact of their work on public health.
  • 🌱 Despite the success, they did not rest on their laurels but continued to innovate, working on a range of projects from pan-coronavirus vaccines to gene therapies for sickle cell anemia.
  • 🌐 Their research has global implications, with work on diseases and vaccines relevant to various regions, including Africa and southeast Asia.
  • 🔍 The speaker's fascination with RNA as a fragile molecule has driven their lifelong pursuit of scientific discovery, which continues to inspire new research and applications.
Q & A

  • What are the contrasting personalities of the two individuals described in the script?

    -The script describes one individual as talkative and bubbling, while the other, Drew, is characterized as more scientific and direct in their approach.

  • How did Kati and the speaker meet?

    -Kati and the speaker met while fighting over the copy machine to photocopy journal articles, which led to discussions about their respective work.

  • What was the speaker's initial area of research?

    -The speaker was initially working with RNA.

  • What did the speaker learn from Kati?

    -The speaker learned immunology from Kati.

  • What was the initial goal of their joint research on RNA?

    -The initial goal was to understand why RNA was so inflammatory.

  • How did they approach data they didn't understand?

    -They would sit down, continue doing experiments, and keep getting results, remaining open-minded throughout the process.

  • At what time of day were they known to submit grants and communicate with each other?

    -They were known to submit grants and communicate with each other in the middle of the night, around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.

  • What was the significant achievement in their research?

    -They figured out how to make RNA non-inflammatory.

  • What was the broader impact of their work on RNA?

    -Their work on RNA led to advancements in the vaccine field, particularly with mRNA vaccines, which became crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • How many Phase 1 clinical trials of mRNA vaccines were they working on before COVID-19?

    -They were working on five Phase 1 clinical trials of different mRNA vaccines before COVID-19 hit.

  • What other areas of research are they involved in, aside from vaccines?

    -They are involved in research on pan-coronavirus vaccines, sickle cell anemia gene therapy, malaria, leptospirosis, and vaccines for peanut allergies, among other infectious diseases.

  • How does the speaker describe their attitude towards their work and discoveries?

    -The speaker describes their attitude as always moving forward, never resting on laurels, and being fascinated by the discoveries in RNA research.

  • What does the speaker find joy in about being a scientist?

    -The speaker finds joy in the process of discovery, the excitement of making new breakthroughs, and the impact their work has on humanity.

Outlines
00:00
🤝 Collaboration and Discovery in RNA Research

The speaker describes the contrasting personalities and scientific approaches of themselves and Drew, highlighting their collaborative journey. They recount how their initial meeting over shared resources led to a partnership in RNA research. The speaker emphasizes the open-mindedness and relentless experimentation that characterized their work, which eventually led to a breakthrough in understanding RNA's inflammatory properties. This discovery laid the groundwork for advancements in the vaccine field, particularly in the context of mRNA vaccines, which gained prominence with the emergence of COVID-19.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡RNA
RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is a molecule that plays a crucial role in various biological roles in the coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. In the context of the video, it is the focus of the scientists' research, where they work on understanding its inflammatory properties and eventually developing non-inflammatory RNA for vaccine applications. The script mentions 'I was working with RNA' and 'We started working on RNA, to try and understand why it was so inflammatory.'
💡Immunology
Immunology is the study of the immune system, which includes the identification of pathogens, the immune response, and the development of immunity. In the video, one of the speakers learns immunology from the other, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of their research. The term is exemplified in the script where it says 'I learned all of the immunology from you.'
💡Inflammatory
Inflammation refers to the body's response to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens or damaged cells. In the script, the scientists are interested in the inflammatory properties of RNA and how to modify it to be non-inflammatory for vaccine development. The script states 'why it was so inflammatory' and 'how to make it non-inflammatory.'
💡Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. The video discusses the development of new vaccines, particularly mRNA vaccines, which are a novel type of vaccine that uses a small piece of the pathogen's genetic material to stimulate an immune response. The script mentions 'making new vaccines' and 'different mRNA vaccines.'
💡mRNA vaccines
mRNA vaccines are a type of vaccine that uses a small piece of the pathogen's mRNA to instruct cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response. The video emphasizes the development and success of mRNA vaccines, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The script refers to 'mRNA vaccines' and 'an influenza vaccine, which was an mRNA vaccine.'
💡Phase 1 clinical trials
Phase 1 clinical trials are the initial stage of testing a new medical intervention in a small group of people to evaluate safety, dosage, and side effects. The video mentions that the scientists were working on five Phase 1 clinical trials of different mRNA vaccines before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating the early stages of vaccine development. The script states 'We had five Phase 1 clinical trials of different mRNA vaccines.'
💡Pandemics
A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. The video discusses the scientists' initial goal of developing vaccines, which later became crucial in the context of pandemics, particularly COVID-19. The script mentions 'We weren't thinking about curing pandemics.'
💡Gene therapy
Gene therapy involves altering the expression of genes or introducing new genetic material into a patient's cells to treat or prevent disease. In the video, the speaker mentions working on gene therapy for sickle cell anemia, indicating the broad application of their research beyond vaccines. The script says 'sickle cell anemia gene therapy.'
💡Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi. The video highlights the scientists' work on a wide range of infectious diseases, including developing vaccines for various conditions. The script mentions 'We're working on really every imaginable infectious disease.'
💡Collaboration
Collaboration refers to the act of working together, especially in an intellectual endeavor. The video emphasizes the importance of the scientists' collaboration, highlighting how their different perspectives and expertise contributed to their research. The script describes their joint efforts in 'We worked together a lot' and 'We couldn't have come to the result without both of us being involved.'
💡Scientific discovery
Scientific discovery involves making new observations, identifying new patterns, and developing new theories or applications of knowledge. The video portrays the excitement and joy of scientific discovery, particularly in the context of RNA research and its applications. The script captures this with 'And I’m so glad that it eventually helps humanity' and 'And I was always interested about this fragile molecule, this RNA.'
Highlights

The speaker and Drew have very different personalities but work together towards the same goal.

Kati and the speaker met while fighting over a copy machine to read journal articles.

They started working together on RNA to understand its inflammatory properties.

Both were open-minded and kept doing experiments despite not understanding all the data.

They submitted grants and communicated in the middle of the night, excited by their results.

Their collaboration was crucial for the discovery of how to make RNA non-inflammatory.

Their work led to breakthroughs in the vaccine field, including mRNA vaccines.

They were already working on five Phase 1 clinical trials for different mRNA vaccines before COVID-19 hit.

Moderna had tested an mRNA influenza vaccine two years before the pandemic, but it was unknown to the public.

The speaker expresses immense joy seeing the success of vaccines in protecting people.

They received heartwarming emails from people who could reunite with family due to the vaccines.

The potential applications of mRNA were not fully realized at the beginning of their research.

The speaker did not celebrate the Phase 3 clinical trials and moved on to new projects.

Their current projects include pan-coronavirus vaccines, sickle cell anemia gene therapy, and vaccines for various diseases.

The speaker has a lifelong fascination with RNA and enjoys following new scientific discoveries.

They are committed to always moving forward, working on the next disease, vaccine, or therapeutic.

The collaboration with Drew was enjoyable and productive over many years.

Being a scientist brings the speaker joy and satisfaction.

Transcripts

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RNA ResearchVaccine DevelopmentScientific CollaborationImmunology InsightsInflammatory RNAClinical TrialsPandemic ResponseModerna VaccineInfectious DiseasesGene Therapy