President of The Physiological Society congratulates 2023 Nobel Prize winner

2 October 2023

The Physiological Society congratulates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

It was announced today (Monday 2 October) that Karikó and Weissman have been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

Responding to the Nobel Prize announcement, President of The Physiological Society, Professor David Attwell, said:

“On behalf of The Physiological Society I am delighted to congratulate Karikó and Weissman for being jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Their pioneering research into nucleoside base modifications forged the path for the life-saving mRNA vaccines that were rolled out worldwide to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Physiology helps us to understand how the body works in health and determine what goes wrong in disease. As such, physiology has been at the forefront of the search for answers at every stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the development of mRNA vaccines.”

More information – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2023/press-release/