Katalin Karikó to Receive 20th Honorary Doctorate at Johns Hopkins Commencement
Katalin Karikó to Receive 20th Honorary Doctorate at Johns Hopkins Commencement
2026. April 23.
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Since 2021, Katalin Karikó – widely recognized as a pioneer of mRNA research – has been a distinguished guest at commencement ceremonies across the United States. This spring marks another milestone in that remarkable journey: she has been invited to speak at the May 21, 2026 commencement ceremony of Johns Hopkins University, where she will also receive her 20th honorary doctorate. The announcement arrived in memorable fashion, presented as a Jeopardy!-style quiz campaign featuring a photograph taken by a staff member of the University of Szeged. With this playful tribute, America’s first research university has already placed the spotlight on Professor Karikó – even before she takes the stage to don the academic robes for yet another distinguished honor.
In a brief profile, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) reflects on Katalin Karikó’s extraordinary career, noting that she “toiled in obscurity before her COVID-19 vaccine work led to a Nobel Prize.” The Nobel laureate will not only receive an honorary doctorate from JHU but also deliver the keynote address at this year’s commencement ceremony.
‘Jeopardy!’ and the ‘Immigrant’
For more than 40 seasons, Jeopardy! has remained one of the most popular quiz shows on American television. Its signature format presents contestants with general knowledge clues, challenging them in the form of questions to identify a person, place, or thing.
Drawing on this familiar format, Johns Hopkins University is engaging nearly 20,000 students – along with the large audience expected at commencement – through a video featuring five clues. In the video, senior student Sania Naik invites viewers to guess which world-renowned researcher will join the JHU community as the featured speaker at the university’s 2026 commencement ceremony.
The short video, titled “From Rejected Research to the Nobel Prize: Meet Our 2026 Commencement Speaker,” is available here.
Below are the five clues quoted from the video, which invites viewers to guess which renowned researcher will take the spotlight at Johns Hopkins University’s 2026 commencement ceremony.
Clue number five:“She left her home in Hungary and stuffed their only money into their daughter’s teddy bear just to chase her dreams in the US.”
Clue number four:“Told that her research had no future, instead of quitting, she kept working. … Hardly anyone believed it could work. Give up or lose your faculty position and take a pay cut. She chose to keep chasing her dream.”
If that still is not enough to guess the answer, clue number three reads: “She met her research partner in a chance encounter at the photocopier. They spent decades obsessed over one thing – mRNA, the blueprint for modern vaccines.”
Clue number two: “She is a hero, who never cared about the fame, only the science.”
And finally, clue number one: “In 2023, her commitment to science was rewarded. She won a Nobel Prize for her groundbreaking research that led to the COVID-19 vaccine that saved millions.”
At a special event on April 8, 2026, JHU announced that mRNA research pioneer Katalin Karikó will deliver its May 21 commencement address in Baltimore, the 20th-largest city in the United States.
The announcement of Katalin Karikó’s upcoming address featured among the top news items on the Johns Hopkins University website.
“Since her childhood days exploring the biology of plants and animals, Katalin Karikó has demonstrated an extraordinary passion for scientific discovery," Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels said. “Katalin's decades-long pursuit of understanding mRNA and its promise – sustained in the face of countless obstacles and scientific consensus – is a stirring example of the power of basic research and its potential to improve and save the lives of millions of people,” JHU’s president noted, highlighting episodes from the scientist’s life to illustrate the obstacles she overcame through perseverance.
University of Szeged in the American spotlight
“Karikó continues her work as a professor at the University of Szeged in her native Hungary” – the Johns Hopkins website notes, placing the University of Szeged in the spotlight on one of America’s most prestigious academic stages.
As JHU – the first research university in the United States – celebrates its 150th anniversary, Katalin Karikó’s story serves as a powerful reminder that perseverance, vision, and intellectual curiosity can change the world. In his remarks, Ronald J. Daniels emphasized that her perseverance and commitment to mRNA research reflect the institution’s core values.
The announcement on the university’s website is illustrated with a portrait of Katalin Karikó taken by István Sahin-Tóth, creating another point of connection to the University of Szeged. Although the photo credit does not mention this, it is worth noting that Sahin-Tóth, a staff member of the University of Szeged’s Directorate for International Affairs and Public Relations, has had several photographs of Professor Karikó featured on widely visited international websites.
István Sahin-Tóth, a staff member of the University of Szeged’s Directorate for International Affairs and Public Relations, has also created a portrait series featuring SZTE’s Nobel Prize-winning professor.
As Johns Hopkins University prepares to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding, Katalin Karikó will take her place among its distinguished guests and will be awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa. The recognition reflects a career that has fundamentally shaped the future of science and medicine through groundbreaking work on messenger RNA.
Original Hungarian article by Ilona Újszászi
Photo by István Sahin-Tóth
More information about Katalin Karikó, research professor at the University of Szeged, is available on SZTE’s website and news portal, as well as in the Photo Gallery and Media Library of the University of Szeged’s Klebelsberg Library and Archives.
