Biochemist Karikó made honorary citizen of Szeged

Hungarian-born biochemist Katalin Karikó, whose decades of work with mRNA technology was instrumental in the development of Covid-19 vaccines, was made an honorary citizen of the southern Hungarian city of Szeged on Friday.

Karikó, who filed the patent for the mRNA technology that is used in the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, was bestowed the status by Szeged Mayor László Botka.

In his laudation, Botka called Karikó an “excellent scientist and researcher who gave hope to humanity during the pandemic”.

Karikó graduated from the University of Szeged with a degree in biology in 1978 and was the recipient of a state scholarship for three academic years.

She worked toward her PhD at the Szeged Biological Research Centre in 1978-1982 and was awarded her doctorate in 1983. She later did research as a biochemist in the United States.