AND is the Future - Making Businesses Sustainable AND Profitable - Chemistry AND Reinventing Progress: Nobel Prize laureate Katalin Karikó on the mRNA covid vaccine

Chemistry AND Reinventing Progress: Nobel Prize laureate Katalin Karikó on the mRNA covid vaccine

09/27/22 • 32 min

AND is the Future - Making Businesses Sustainable AND Profitable

Professor Katalin Karikó’s research led to the creation of the messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccine, which has saved so many lives and helped curb the impact of the pandemic. She has quite literally changed the world! Ilham sits down with Professor Karikó to talk about her invaluable research; her passion for science; her upbringing in Hungary; women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers; her advice for young scientists, and much more
1:42 - Upbringing in Hungary
5:26 - Move to the United States
7:43 - Development of the Covid-19 vaccine
11:23 - mRNA technology as a potential solution for other diseases
13:49 - Receiving the covid-19 vaccine - the results of her work
15:19 - Story of resilience and determination amid challenges
21:15 - Adjusting to almost overnight fame
22:50 - Educating the public
24:06 - Championing women scientists
24:44 - Role models
28:28 - Advice to young scientists

Professor Katalin Karikó is an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked for 24 years before joining BioNTech SE in 2013 as a senior VP. She is also professor at University of Szeged, Hungary from where she received her PhD in biochemistry in 1982. For decades, her research has focused on RNA-mediated mechanisms with the ultimate goal of developing mRNA for protein therapy. She investigated RNA-mediated immune activation and together with Drew Weissman discovered that nucleoside modifications suppress the immunogenicity of RNA, which widened the therapeutic potentials of mRNA. Her patent, co-invented with Drew Weissman, was used to create the FDA-approved covid-19 mRNA vaccines by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna.

Her groundbreaking contribution was to use chemistry to modify the mRNA so that it wouldn't be rejected by the immune system. In the future, her research could be applied to many other diseases such as cancer, influenza, malaria, tuberculosis, and so much more.

Professor Karikó has won numerous awards for her incredible work, including the Solvay Prize.

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

Professor Karikó has won numerous awards for her incredible work, including the Solvay Prize.

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

Previous Episode

Doing Well in Business AND Doing Good for the World with Former DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma

When Feike Sijbesma became the CEO of Royal DSM, he said that he wanted to run a successful company AND improve the state of the world - and he achieved both!
Ilham sat down with Feike to talk about his recipe for success in building a sustainable AND profitable company; his incredible work to reduce hunger and improve food security in Africa and Bangladesh; how to find a company’s purpose; his work on climate adaptation; his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and more!
Feike Sijbesma is the former CEO of DSM. During his time as a CEO, Feike transformed DSM into a company focused on health, nutrition, and materials, and it has been considered a frontrunner in sustainability ever since. And he did all this while tripling DSM’s value. He also become a leader in fighting hunger. When he was CEO of DSM, he founded Africa Improved Foods, which is a public-private partnership that provides a scalable and sustainable solution to malnutrition via local production of highly nutritious foods. He was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award (United Nations) for this work.

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

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Net Positive AND Thriving with former Unilever CEO Paul Polman

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Timestamps
1:22 - Background and passion for sustainable business
5:10 - How to be a Net Positive company
8:42 - Purpose: unlocking a company’s soul
13:36 - Power of partnerships
19:07 - Empathetic leadership
25:30 - Leaving a better world for the next generation
27:32 - What can business learn from the arts?

Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever and one of the foremost leaders in the effort to create sustainable and profitable businesses. While at Unilever he increased his shareholders' returns by 300% while ensuring the company ranked #1 in the world for sustainability for eleven years running. He now runs an organization called Imagine, which advocates for businesses becoming a true force for good. Paul is also the author of Net Positive How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

AND is the Future - Making Businesses Sustainable AND Profitable - Chemistry AND Reinventing Progress: Nobel Prize laureate Katalin Karikó on the mRNA covid vaccine

Transcript

Chemistry AND Reinventing Progress with Professor Katalin Karikó

Ilham Kadri: Today, I'm thrilled to be speaking with professor Katalin Karikó, a dear friend and a brilliant scientist. Professor Karikó's research led to the creation of the messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccines, which has saved so many lives and helped curb the impacts of the pandemic. Her groundbreaking contribution was to use chemistry to modify the mRNA so that it wouldn't be rejected by the immune system. And she has qui