The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented state of emergency, during which medical doctors struggled to save lives, and scientists worked feverishly to study the virus, identify effective drugs or develop vaccines in record time. Several different approaches to vaccine production were used, some of which were traditional and others quite innovative. mRNA vaccines had never been licensed for humans before, but the remarkable results of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna rapidly dissolved all scepticism. The simplicity of its nature, the potent immunity it provides, and its safety, turned the mRNA vaccine into the most widely distributed type of vaccine during the pandemic.

The idea to use RNA for therapeutic applications was first introduced by John Wolfe in 1990. Katalin Karikó, a Hungarian biochemist who at the time was Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, saw this and became committed to mRNA therapeutics. However, the scientific community and funding agencies doubted the potential of this molecule due to its instability and its inefficient delivery. Drew Weissman, who moved to Penn in 1998 and worked in the same building as Karikó, shared her vision and passion for mRNA. Together, they started a fruitful collaboration, which would eventually lead to the development of the mRNA vaccine that has saved millions of lives during the ongoing pandemic.

Dr Weissman today is Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Director of Vaccine Research in the Infectious Diseases Division. He leads cutting-edge research on RNA and innate immune response applied to the fields of vaccine research and gene therapy. Weissman and Karikó have received numerous awards this year for the development of the mRNA vaccine and the impact it had on humanity, and they are whispered by many to be potential candidates for the Nobel Prize.

We have interviewed Dr Weissman to learn more about how mRNA vaccines work and gain insight into what therapeutic applications RNA can have.

Drew Weissman (left), Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at the Perelman School of Medicine, and Katalin Karikó (right), adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery at Penn and Senior Vice President at BioNTech. (Image credit: Penn Medicine)

COVID-19 大流行造成了前所未有的紧急状态，在此期间，医生们奋力挽救生命，科学家们则疯狂地研究病毒、识别有效药物或在创纪录的时间内开发疫苗。使用了几种不同的疫苗生产方法，其中一些是传统的，另一些则相当创新。 mRNA 疫苗此前从未获得用于人类的许可，但辉瑞/BioNTech 和 Moderna 生产的 SARS-CoV-2 疫苗的显着效果迅速消除了所有怀疑。其简单性、强大的免疫力以及安全性使 mRNA 疫苗成为大流行期间分布最广泛的疫苗类型。

将 RNA 用于治疗应用的想法最初由 John Wolfe 于 1990 年提出。当时担任宾夕法尼亚大学助理教授的匈牙利生物化学家 Katalin Karikó 看到了这一点，并致力于 mRNA 治疗。然而，科学界和资助机构对这种分子的潜力表示怀疑，因为它不稳定且传递效率低下。 Drew Weissman 于 1998 年搬到宾夕法尼亚大学，与 Karikó 在同一栋大楼工作，她分享了她对 mRNA 的愿景和热情。他们共同开始了富有成效的合作，最终开发出 mRNA 疫苗，在当前的大流行期间拯救了数百万人的生命。

韦斯曼博士目前是宾夕法尼亚大学佩雷​​尔曼医学院疫苗研究领域的罗伯茨家族教授，以及传染病部门疫苗研究主任。他领导了应用于疫苗研究和基因治疗领域的 RNA 和先天免疫反应的前沿研究。韦斯曼和卡里科今年因 mRNA 疫苗的开发及其对人类的影响而获得了无数奖项，许多人都在窃窃私语他们是诺贝尔奖的潜在候选人。

我们采访了 Weissman 博士，以了解更多有关 mRNA 疫苗如何发挥作用的信息，并深入了解 RNA 的治疗应用。

佩雷尔曼医学院疫苗研究罗伯茨家族教授德鲁·韦斯曼（Drew Weissman）（左）和宾夕法尼亚大学神经外科兼职教授兼 BioNTech 高级副总裁卡塔琳·卡里科（Katalin Karikó）（右）。 （图片来源：宾夕法尼亚大学医学）