B.C. scientist wins prestigious national award for work on mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
Global News
Biochemist Pieter Cullis, former director of UBC's Life Sciences Institute, was named a winner of the 2022 Canada Gairdner International Award on Tuesday.
A British Columbia biochemist whose work played a key role in the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been honoured with one of Canada’s most prestigious scientific awards.
Biochemist Pieter Cullis, former director of UBC’s Life Sciences Institute, was named a winner of the 2022 Canada Gairdner International Award on Tuesday.
He was honoured alongside Katalin Karikó, senior vice-president of RNA Protein Replacement Therapies at BioNTech SE and Drew Weissman, director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation, for their work developing the vaccine’s mRNA engineering.
“It’s astonishing, really,” Cullis told Global BC Morning on Friday.
“This really reflects the work of hundreds of people. I had the privilege of leading some pretty successful groups, but this is really a group effort and a very collaborative endeavour.”
Technology developed over decades by Cullis and his colleagues was used in the Pfizer-BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine.
Scientists have been working with mRNA, which can direct cells in the human body to produce proteins for decades, but one of the key challenges in its use in medicine was how to deliver it safely into cells.
That’s where Cullis’ work was important. Cullis and UBC colleagues pioneered the development of lipid nanoparticles, tiny droplets of fat that work to create a “bubble” around mRNA and allow it to travel to cells in the body.
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