The Board of Directors of the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) is pleased to announce that Dr. Katalin Karikó and Dr. Drew Weissman, the scientists who led the research and technology development for the therapeutic use of mRNA – the foundation for the COVID vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna/NIH, will receive NDRI’s 2022 Empowering Research and Discovery Award. This award honors individuals whose contributions and leadership have helped advance critically-needed research. The awards will be presented at NDRI’s 2022 Celebration of Service to Science Awards Dinner on September 28, 2022 at the Union League in Philadelphia. Dr. Karikó is a Senior Vice President with BioNTech and an adjunct professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Weissman is the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Additional honorees include prominent organizations and renowned leaders who have made significant contributions to the advancement of research:
Global Therapeutic Area Head, Vaccines, the Empowering Research and Discovery Award
“NDRI is privileged to honor the scientific discoveries of the individuals and organizations who have helped to advance research in the fight against the coronavirus.” said Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, chair of the NDRI Board of Directors and president of Shepherd University. “We are grateful to all of our honorees for the vital role they have played in promoting research to benefit humanity.”
Bill Leinweber, NDRI president and CEO, shared “We look forward to celebrating – in person, once again, the commitment of all of our awardees to advancing science, research, and drug discovery.”
Presentation of the 2022 Service to Science Awards will be made at NDRI’s awards event on September 28, 2022 at the Union League in Philadelphia.
For more information about NDRI’s 2022 Awardees, including bios and details about the awards event, visit https://ndriresource.org/servicetoscience for more information.
NDRI is a Not-For-Profit (501c3) Corporation.