She grew up in Hungary, daughter of a butcher. She decided she wanted to be a scientist, although she had never met one. She moved to the United States in her 20s, but for decades never found a permanent position, instead clinging to the fringes of academia. Now Katalin Kariko, 66, known to colleagues as Kati, has emerged as one of the heroes of Covid-19 vaccine development. Her work, with her clo
![Long Overlooked, Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus (Published 2021)](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/3cb3fffa9f71fb7d624c29c8e92dcb5842bd16d0/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2021%2F04%2F02%2Fscience%2F00virus-kariko-1%2F00virus-kariko-1-facebookJumbo.jpg%3Fyear%3D2021%26h%3D549%26w%3D1050%26s%3D054cda24956978bb9ced096db175a0a8e6ed70cea6ead75c667e44495f760517%26k%3DZQJBKqZ0VN)