Coronavirus Research

Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine was profiled in a series of articles about the scientists who helped create the COVID-19 vaccines. “The person who achieves his goal is the one that has faced frustration and dealt with it, understood it, and used it to their advantage,” Weissman said.

Katalin Karikó of the Perelman School of Medicine was profiled in a series of articles about the scientists who helped create the COVID-19 vaccines. “I think she should be given credit for saving the world,” said her colleague Jean Bennett. Karikó’s ideas were “so ahead of her time, she had a hard time convincing people that they would actually work,” Bennett said. “They seemed too science fiction-y to people and too challenging.”

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine have been awarded Philadelphia’s 2021 John Scott Award for their research on mRNA.

A team of researchers led by Ping Wang of the Perelman School of Medicine is developing a more accurate rapid test for COVID-19 that uses smart phone cameras. “The PCR is great. It's sensitive, but at the same time it's only residing in the core laboratories,” she said. “So, you can't really do PCR at home for most settings.”

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine received the Lasker Award for their research on mRNA, which ultimately lead to the creation of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines.

Jeffrey D. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine is quoted on the highly detailed data on cases among vaccinated people that links cases to the specific vaccine the person received.

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine have been awarded a $3 million Breakthrough Prize for research that paved the way for COVID-19 vaccines. “It’s been very wonderful,” said Weissman. “I never thought it was possible.”