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Awards

Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó receive 2021 Lasker Award
Drew Weisman and Katalin Kariko wear masks in a lab and look at liquid in a test tube.

mRNA scientists Drew Weissman, the Roberts Family Professor of Vaccine Research in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, and Katalin Karikó, an adjunct professor of neurosurgery at Penn and a senior vice president at BioNTech. (Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine)

Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó receive 2021 Lasker Award

Weissman and Karikó’s mRNA technology is recognized for enabling rapid development of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines

Alex Gardner

2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences awarded to mRNA pioneers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó
Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó standing side by side.

Twenty-five years ago, Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó struck up their first conversations at Penn by a copy machine, where both were printing journal articles. That chance encounter laid the foundation for a revolution in mRNA technology, innovations that are now being leveraged to confront a host of biomedical challenges. (Image: Peggy Peterson)

2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences awarded to mRNA pioneers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó

Weissman and Karikó are honored for engineering modified RNA technology which enabled rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Alex Gardner

Three Quakers earn Ivy weekly awards
A collage showing Autumn Leak (top) and Sydney Ormiston (bottom) playing volleyball and Matt Leigh (right) playing soccer.

Three Quakers earn Ivy weekly awards

Autumn Leak and Sydney Ormiston of the volleyball team and Matt Leigh of the men’s soccer team have been recognized for their impressive performances over the holiday weekend.
Penn mRNA researchers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó awarded the 2021 Albany Prize
Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó.

Drew Weissman, the Roberts Family Professor of Vaccine Research, and Katalin Karikó, an adjunct professor of Neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine and a senior vice president at BioNTech. (Image: Penn Medicine News)

Penn mRNA researchers Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó awarded the 2021 Albany Prize

For their landmark research that set a foundation for the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó have been selected to receive the prize after decades of work.

From Penn Medicine News

Filmmaker Claire Sliney heads to Paris with a Nat Geo Storytelling Fulbright
Student standing outside wearing graduation cap and gown

Claire Sliney graduated in May from the College of Arts and Sciences. She was the first Penn undergraduate to win an Academy Award, when she was a sophomore. As a senior, she was the first to receive a National Geographic Storytelling Fulbright Fellowship. (Image: Eric Sucar, University of Pennsylvania Communications)

Filmmaker Claire Sliney heads to Paris with a Nat Geo Storytelling Fulbright

May graduate Claire Sliney is the first Penn undergrad to receive an Academy Award, and to receive a Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship. She heads to Paris to shoot a documentary about how female immigrants in France are portrayed in film.
Honoring outstanding staff with 2021 Models of Excellence awards
picture of the front page of the Model of Excellence booklet

Honoring outstanding staff with 2021 Models of Excellence awards

Each year, the program shines a light on the University’s stellar staff. This year, the University is proud to honor the professionals who exemplify the dedication, care, and innovation that helped the Penn community persevere during the pandemic.

Dee Patel

20 Penn students and recent graduates awarded Fulbright grants
eighteen student headshots

enn Fulbright grant recipients for 2021-22 include 12 graduating seniors, six graduate students and two recent graduates. Pictured left to right (top row) Daisy Angeles, Robyn Barrow, Saxon Bryant, Youvin Chung, Gabriel DeSantis, Megan Everts; (middle row) Samuel Goldstein, Maria Kovalchuk, Andreas Nolan, Caleb Oh, Neelima Paleti, Bhavana Penmetsa; (bottom row) John Sigmier, Claire Sliney, Marion Standefer, Edward Stevens IV, Judith Weston, Andrew Zheng. 

20 Penn students and recent graduates awarded Fulbright grants

Twenty Penn students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright grants for 2021-22, including 12 graduating seniors, six graduate students, and two recent graduates. They will conduct research, pursue graduate degrees, or teach English in Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Tajikistan.