Katalin Karik贸 receiving her Nobel prize in Stockholm in 2023 TT News Agency/Alamy
Katalin Karik贸 (Bodley Head (UK); Crown (US))
IN OCTOBER 2023, the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine went to Katalin Karik贸 for helping to lay the groundwork for mRNA-based covid-19 vaccines, alongside her collaborator, Drew Weissman. Yet only a few years earlier, Karik贸’s career had been spoken of “in hushed tones as a cautionary tale for young scientists”.
Karik贸’s story is a classic in the genre of underdogs succeeding against the odds. In her autobiography, Breaking Through: My life in science, she…
