Katalin Karikó: I will use the Nobel Prize money for education and research
Katalin Karikó was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday last week, together with fellow American microbiologist Drew Weissman, for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
The recent Nobel Prize winner was greeted by almost a thousand people in Szeged in the ceremonial hall and in front of the office. Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi, also a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, visited the city for the first time exactly 50 years ago, after leaving for America. His study was now given to Katalin Karikó.
Asked what she will do with the prize money, Katalin Karikó said "I don't wear jewellery, I don't have a yacht and I never will, I would like to use the money for education and research. Where and with whom exactly, the future will decide".
The Nobel Prize comes with a prize of $1 million. As a shared Nobel laureate, Katalin Karikó is entitled to $500,000, which is equivalent to nearly HUF 184 million at current exchange rates.
Cover photo: Janos Kummer/Getty Images
