Mother-Daughter Role Reversal

Two-time Olympic champion Susan Francia, a member of the U.S. National Team from 2005 to 2010, has enjoyed the support and cheers of her mother, Katalin Karikó, throughout her career.

Now the roles are reversed, as Francia claps for her mother on her receiving the Nobel Prize in Medicine (along with her mother’s research partner, Drew Wiessman) for discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19.

“It feels amazing to see her finally celebrated, but I was clapping for her ever since she’s been telling me about her work,” said Francia immediately after the award ceremony. “I have always celebrated her enthusiasm for science, even when others didn’t see or recognize the value.”

Born in Szeged, Hungary, Francia moved to the U.S. with her parents when she was two years old, began rowing in her sophomore year at the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to win five world championships, in addition to capturing gold in the eight at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.

Karikó was appointed assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where she remained until 2013. After that, she became vice president and later senior vice president at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals. Since 2021, she has been a professor at Szeged University and an adjunct professor at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.

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