Key Sentence:
- Drew Weissman and Catalin Carico, whose work was instrumental in developing an mRNA vaccine against Covid, are among the annual award for an outstanding scientist.
In December 2020, the FDA approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. A week later, the Moderna vaccine less than a year after the World Health Organization announced the outbreak of the current pandemic. Both vaccines are based on mRNA, science developed by Drew Weissman and Catalin Carico at the University of Pennsylvania.
The research pair, who have worked together for more than a decade. Recently received a $3 million breakthrough award in life sciences to support their ongoing research. Meanwhile, Weissman is pleased that his years spent in technology have paid off in fighting the pandemic.
“We studied about 20 different mRNA Vaccine for 20 different pathogens. We had 100% protection for almost every vaccine in our animal model.” However, he was nervous when Covid vaccines found their way through human studies because if he works with animals, he doesn’t always work with humans, he said. “I was most relieved when the third phase test came out, and we had 95% protection,” he continued.
But Weissman was not complacent. His team is working to understand how the coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, is changing so.
“There are three epidemics or pandemics of the coronavirus,” he said.
“That tells us there will be more.” To prevent future epidemics, his team is working on a vaccine that will help develop antibodies against this viral part common to the coronavirus. Which doesn’t mutate very often. “We think it will be useful for any options that will appear in the future,” he added.
Weissman and Carico won one of five $3 million breakthrough awards that year shared by nine different scientists in physics, life sciences, and mathematics. In addition, the Breakthrough Awards also won three New Horizons Awards in Physics for $100,000. Three New Horizons Awards for $100,000 for mathematics.
And three Mariam Mirzahani Awards for New Frontiers for $50,000 and the Mariam Mirzahani Award for women working in mathematics. The Breakthrough Foundation gives the award, founded by billionaire Yuri Milner and his wife, Julia.
Breakthrough award in life science
In addition to Weissman and Carico, Shankar Balasubramanyan, David Klenerman, and Pascal Meyer received the US$3 million award in life sciences. These three researchers helped develop some of the most important discoveries. That would allow the entire human genome to be sequenced quickly at a low cost. Sequencing the first human genome took more than a decade and cost about a billion dollars. But with this innovation, the genome can be sequenced in less than a thousand dollars a day.