The Unlikely Pioneer Behind mRNA Vaccines
Hosted by Michael Barbaro; produced by Rachel Quester, Jessica Cheung and Robert Szypko; edited by Anita Badejo and Paige Cowett; music by Dan Powell, Brad Fisher and Marion Lozano; and engineered by Chris Wood.
When she was at graduate school in the 1970s, Dr. Katalin Kariko learned about something that would become a career-defining obsession: mRNA.
Messenger RNA was a newly discovered molecule, a genetic script that carried DNA instructions to each cell’s protein-making machinery.
Dr. Kariko believed in the potential of mRNA, but for decades she ran up against institutional roadblocks. Then, the coronavirus hit and her obsession would help shield millions from a once-in-a-century pandemic.
The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Annie Brown, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Wendy Dorr, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Austin Mitchell, Neena Pathak, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guillemette, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Kaitlin Roberts, Rachelle Bonja, Leslye Davis, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano and Soraya Shockley, Corey Schreppel and Anita Badejo.
Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Theo Balcomb, Cliff Levy, Lauren Jackson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Nora Keller, Sofia Milan, Desiree Ibekwe, Erica Futterman and Wendy Dorr.
