Katalin Karikó did not have a flashy lifestyle. A Hungarian immigrant, she was chasing an idea that not many in the scientific world had an interest in. At the University of Pennsylvania she dedicated herself to the study of mRNA, with the sole belief that she could find a way to teach our cells to make their own medicine.

She didn’t have a lab. She didn’t have a title. But she persevered.

Alongside immunologist Drew Weissman, she discovered how to successfully modify mRNA so it would not trigger an adverse immune reaction. This one advancement laid the foundation for the COVID vaccines — a breakthrough that saved millions of lives in the pandemic.

It was 2023. It was 30 years after the majority of scientists gave up on her. And Katalin Karikó had just received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.