In the first five months of 2025, Katalin Karikó delivered lectures at conferences and public events across Europe. During her working visit to Italy in May, she received the Mendel Award from the European Society of Human Genetics. Back in Hungary, she continued to share her latest findings and experiences related to messenger RNA at several conferences.
According to Katalin Karikó, even as communication channels expand, the researcher’s role remains the same: to offer knowledge and guidance in the jungle of news and misinformation.
Photo by I. Ú.
In the first five months of 2025, Katalin Karikó’s name appeared in no less than 80 Hungarian and English-language news items on the University of Szeged’s website. However, only a broader analysis of news outlets and media sources could provide a full picture of the many ways in which Hungary’s first female Nobel laureate promotes science and public understanding of research across various platforms.
Katalin Karikó delivered her first inspiring lecture at the Budapest seat of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on May 3, 2021.
Photo by Tamás Szigeti (mta.hu)
Bringing science closer to the public
A look at Katalin Karikó’s calendar for May 2025 reveals that she also contributed to raising awareness around the 200th anniversary of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA). After attending the 199th ceremonial general assembly of the Academy, she gave a lecture at the two-day bicentennial conference organized by AMAT – the Society of Hungarian American Academicians. As reported by mta.hu, she was joined by several distinguished figures, including Nobel laureates May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser, and Aaron Ciechanover, as well as former MTA president and Abel Prize laureate László Lovász.
How do knowledge and science shape our everyday lives? This question is explored in an exhibition on view at the Hungarian National Museum through October 26, 2025, as part of the program series celebrating the bicentenary of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
Katalin Karikó, guest of honor at the opening ceremony of the ‘Magic Power’ exhibition, emphasized in her welcome speech:
“It is a great honor and joy for me that my Nobel Prize and diploma are being exhibited at the Hungarian National Museum.”
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
At the opening of the temporary exhibition “Magic Power: Knowledge. Community. Academy”, on view at the Hungarian National Museum until October 26, 2025, Katalin Karikó expressed her hope that everyone who visits the exhibition will learn a great deal from it. “I trust that young people will be more enthusiastic about learning physics, chemistry, and biology, seeing my medal on display,” she said.
Katalin Karikó’s Nobel medal and diploma are on display as part of a temporary exhibition at the Hungarian National Museum. The placement of these valuable items was marked by a ceremony held on May 5, 2025, attended by (from left to right): Tamás Freund, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Nobel laureate and University of Szeged professor Katalin Karikó; Gábor Zsigmond, Director General of the Hungarian National Museum; and Szilárd Demeter, President of the Hungarian Public Collections Center.
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
In addition to her international engagements, Professor Karikó remained actively involved in several scientific initiatives in Szeged. One notable example is the establishment of the Host–Pathogen Interaction Center – part of the Institute of Biology at the University of Szeged – which was made possible through her financial and professional support. To mark the launch of the center, a chamber exhibition titled Findings from the Lab – mRNA, Karikó, HPIC was held, showcasing key milestones in scientific discovery, the university’s institutional history, and the public communication of science. As part of her ongoing presence at key academic events, Professor Karikó also attended the Bolyai Prize award ceremony in May, underscoring the significance of the event.
Moments that reflect a passion for science
Katalin Karikó made a memorable contribution to the celebrations marking the 950th anniversary of her hometown, Szolnok, with a series of lectures and public events that drew nearly a thousand attendees on May 15, 2025.
Photo by I. Ú.
On the notable day of May 15, 2025, Katalin Karikó – award-winning scientist and acclaimed author – was greeted online from Italy as the recipient of the Premio Asimov Prize.
Katalin Karikó’s memoir, Breaking Through: My Life in Science, which has been published in 15 languages over the past year and a half, was announced as a bestseller in Italy at the Turin International Book Fair. Celebrated for its portrayal of her passion for science, the book was honored with the Premio Asimov Prize, awarded based on votes cast by Italian secondary school students. A portrait exhibition at the Szolnok Agora commemorates this exceptional occasion.
On view until June 7, 2025, the portrait exhibition in Szolnok captures memorable moments from events connected to Katalin Karikó. Similar to the display in the atrium of the University of Szeged’s Main Building – open through the end of September 2025 – the photographs were taken by István Sahin-Tóth, a staff member of SZTE’s Directorate for International and Public Relations.
Researchers from the small Hungarian town of Kisújszállás at the Josephinum in Vienna (left to right): Gábor Tamás Szabó, Katalin Karikó, and Attila Kiss.
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
Although she receives countless invitations from around the world, Katalin Karikó – celebrated for her approachable style and gift for making science understandable – is only able to accept a few. One such invitation came from the Medical University of Vienna, which she gladly accepted, as two of her mentees from Kisújszállás are currently teaching and conducting research there.
Those attending the Vienna events held in honor of Katalin Karikó (left to right): László Rovó, Rector of the University of Szeged and professor of otolaryngology; Gábor Tamás Szabó, senior researcher at BioNTech in Mainz; Attila Kiss, biologist who began his career at the University of Szeged and has worked at the Medical University of Vienna for the past ten years; and György Lázár, Dean of the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School and Professor of Surgery.
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
Like Katalin Karikó, researcher-physician Gábor Tamás Szabó and biologist Attila Kiss also began their scientific journeys in the small town of Kisújszállás, located in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County. After earning his medical degree at the University of Debrecen and gaining clinical experience there, Gábor Tamás Szabó joined BioNTech in Mainz, Germany, where he conducted research – initially under the guidance of Katalin Karikó, and later independently. Today, he shares his expertise as a lecturer at the Cardiovascular Institute, part of the Center for Biomedical Research and Translational Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna. The head of this academic unit is Attila Kiss, who earned his biology degree at the University of Szeged, completed his doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine’s Institute of Pharmacology, and was awarded his PhD in 2011. He has been working at the Medical University of Vienna for the past decade.
On May 19, 2025, Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó delivered a lecture that drew a large audience at the Medical University of Vienna, engaging participants in a lively Q&A session.
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
The success of the two-day program held on May 19–20, 2025 – organized in cooperation with MedUni Vienna, the University of Szeged, the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna, and the Collegium Hungaricum – was covered in detail by the University of Szeged’s news portal.
Hungary’s first female Nobel laureate left a lasting mark on the Austrian capital, as evidenced by the conferral of her twentieth honorary doctorate by the Medical University of Vienna – along with her third award named after Ignác Semmelweis, the physician celebrated as “the savior of mothers.”
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
Two exhibitions highlighting the life and achievements of Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó are open to visitors until June 28, 2025: one at the Josephinum, the museum of MedUni Vienna, showcasing her scientific work, and another at the Collegium Hungaricum, presenting her awards and recognitions. Organized in cooperation with the Klebelsberg Library of the University of Szeged, SZTE’s Directorate for International and Public Relations, and Austrian partners, both exhibitions aim to promote public understanding of science.
“Be ready to explain your research!”
In May, Katalin Karikó met with students, admirers, bankers, and fellow scientists alike.
In May 2025, Katalin Karikó – the first Hungarian woman to receive a Nobel Prize and a professor at the University of Szeged – visited Professor Emerita Ilona Béládi, the first woman to head a department at Szeged’s medical school.
Photo by I. Ú.
Katalin Karikó paid a visit to Ilona Béládi, a former professor at the University of Szeged and long-time mentor and supporter. As the first woman to head a department at the university’s medical school, Professor Béládi is now approaching her 100th birthday. Professor Karikó also reached out to Gyula Farkas, who served as a guiding figure for the university’s biology group during her student years.
Teacher and student reminisce together: Professor Gyula Farkas and Katalin Karikó.
Photo by I. Ú.
At a moving ceremony, Katalin Karikó honored her teacher, Pál Venetianer, on his 90th birthday at the Biological Research Center in Szeged. At this same venue – her first workplace – she received enthusiastic applause for her presentation at an international conference focused on actin, the protein most closely associated with Szeged.
Katalin Karikó added a highlight to her May by taking part in a recruitment event promoting chemistry studies, where she engaged with young scientists and students, answering their questions in the main auditorium of the Faculty of Science building at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.
Photo by Botond Máté Marosi
Returning to Milan, another key stop in her ongoing professional collaborations in Italy, Katalin Karikó received a special welcome on the website of the European Society of Human Genetics Conference. It was announced there that the Nobel laureate – professor at the University of Szeged and adjunct professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania – will deliver the “Mendel Lecture” on May 27, 2025.
The research community was pleased to report on the overwhelming success of Katalin Karikó’s lecture in Milan.
Multiple prestigious awards have been named after Gregor Mendel, the pioneer of modern genetics. The European Society of Human Genetics Mendel Award, recently presented to Katalin Karikó, has also honored renowned figures such as Nobel laureates Emmanuelle Marie Charpentier and Aaron J. Ciechanover.
With its worldwide audience in mind, the European Human Genetics Conference adopted a hybrid format in Milan, attracting 5,651 researchers from 94 countries on site, while an additional 1,230 scientists joined online – underscoring the event’s broad international reach.
In the presence of attendees at the European Human Genetics Conference, Katalin Karikó received the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) Mendel Award – a glass sculpture approximately 15 centimeters tall, depicting a chromosome crafted by a geneticist.
Milan kept the Nobel laureate actively engaged – from fielding questions from journalists to delivering a lecture at the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute.
Katalin Karikó’s presentation on the latest scientific findings related to bradykinin-mediated angioedemas was also well received at the conference held in Budapest.
Photo by I. Ú.
The series of appearances in May did not end in Milan. On May 29, 2025, Katalin Karikó delivered a lecture at the 14th C1-Inhibitor Deficiency and Angioedema Workshop in Budapest. She presented her Nobel Prize to the attending scientific researchers, physicians, biochemists, pharmacologists, drug developers, healthcare professionals, patients, and representatives of patient support groups. She also answered questions, signed copies of her bestselling book, and shared smiles in group photos.
The so-called “Martians” exhibition at the Budapest Congress Center is another point of interest where visitors can learn about the work of Katalin Karikó – a researcher who remained active even on the last day of spring 2025, when she delivered a lecture at the 75th anniversary meeting of the Molecular Life Sciences Institute of the HUN-REN Center for Natural Sciences. The event also honored the institute’s affiliation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and celebrated the legacy of its former Enzymology Department.
Beyond mRNA, Katalin Karikó aims to inspire future researchers and promote science through both her bestselling book and her conference appearances.
Photo by I. Ú.
Throughout her May 2025 engagements, Katalin Karikó emphasized a message she expressed in various forms – one that was notably highlighted on the Milan conference website as an inspiring lesson for others, following her account of key turning points in her career:
“Trust in what you carry within you. Nurture what you find there, especially when no one else does. And be ready to explain your research, particularly when its science is difficult to understand and at risk of being misinterpreted. If people are to benefit from life-saving medical advances, it is our duty to communicate clearly what we study and how it can improve their lives.”
Original Hungarian article by Ilona Újszászi
Photos by István Sahin-Tóth, K. K., I. Ú.
