The 2022 Japan Prize

• Field:
  Materials and Production
• Achievement:
  For pioneering research contributing to the development of mRNA vaccines
• Lecture:
  Developing mRNA for therapy

Award and Honor

2020	50th Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Medical Science, Brandeis University
2021	Precision Medicine World Conference Pioneer Award
2021	Széchenyi Prize
2021	Wilhelm Exner Medal
2021	Reichstein Medal (Swiss Academy of Pharm. Sci.)
2021	Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
2021	Public Health Award – Research!America Outstanding Achievement 2021 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
2021	Albany Medical Center Prize
2021	The 2022 Breakthrough Prize (announced in September, 2021)
2021	The 2021 Lasker Award (Clinical Award)
2021	Dr. Paul Janssen Award – J&J
2021	Keio Medical Science Prize – Keio University, Japan
2021	John Scott Award – City Council of Philadelphia, USA
2021	Professor Hawking Fellow 2021 –Fellowship Committee, Cambridge
2021	Coley Award in Basic Immunology – Cancer Research Institute, USA
2021	German Future Prize – German Federal President
2021	Prince Mahidol – Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, Thailand
2021	Golden plate award – Academy of Achievement

Education

1978	University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary, BS in Biology
1982	University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary, Ph.D. in Biochemistry

Professional History

1989-1995	Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
1995-2009	Senior Research Investigator, Department of Neurosurgery University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2009-2021	Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2013-2019	Vice President, BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, Mainz, Germany
2019-	Senior Vice President, BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals
2021-	Adjunct Professor, Department of Neurosurgery University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2021-	Professor, University of Szeged, Hungary

Key Publications

• Karikó, Katalin; Buckstein, Michael; Ni, Houping; Weissman, Drew "Suppression of RNA recognition by Toll-like receptors: the impact of nucleoside modification and the evolutionary origin of RNA". Immunity. 23(2), 165-175 (2005).
• Karikó, Katalin; Muramatsu, Hiromi; Welsh, Frank A.; Ludwig, János; Kato, Hiroki; Akira, Shizuo; Weissman, Drew (November 2008). "Incorporation of pseudouridine into mRNA yields superior nonimmunogenic vector with increased translational capacity and biological stability". Molecular Therapy, 16 (11): 1833-1840.
• Kariko, Katalin; Muramatsu, Hiromi; Keller, Jason M.; Weissman, Drew “Increased Erythropoiesis in Mice Injected With Submicrogram Quantities of Pseudouridine-containing mRNA Encoding Erythropoietin”, Molecular Therapy, 20(5), 948-953(2012)