{"id":9674,"date":"2024-07-15T00:38:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T00:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=9674"},"modified":"2024-07-15T13:29:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T13:29:32","slug":"kariko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/kariko\/","title":{"rendered":"Staff Picks: “Breaking Through: My Life in Science” by 2023 Nobel laureate Katalin Karik\u00f3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cover<\/a>Breaking through: My life in science<\/span><\/em><\/a>, a modest and unpresuming title, sounds unlike the typical editorializing titles of memoirs published by “celebrities” in the popular culture sense of the word. However, the world has learned the author\u2019s name quickly in the past few years. Katalin Karik\u00f3<\/a> is one of the exceptional scientists whose research on messenger RNA literally saved millions of lives in the recent outbreak of a worldwide pandemic: COVID-19. Based on the technology she developed via extending her research and collaborating with immunologist Drew Weissman<\/a>, their modified technology was crucial for the effective COVID-19 vaccines.<\/span> Doctors Karik\u00f3 and Weissman were the recipients of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKatalin Karik\u00f3\u2019s story is an inspiration.\u201d\u2014Bill Gates
\n<\/span><\/h4>\n

Unaware of the above statement on the publisher\u2019s site, as a science librarian I chose this book for the same reason: to inspire STEM students and early-career researchers to never give up. The book\u2019s main takeaway is that you should follow your instincts and, with eyes on the prize, soldier on while maintaining your integrity. I also chose this book, written by a fellow Hungarian living in the United States, because I\u2019m proud of Katalin Karik\u00f3\u2019s incredible accomplishments and can relate to many of her experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baggage without a tag<\/span><\/h4>\n

The American reader would be surprised or even appalled at the humble beginnings of those of us growing up in communist Hungary or in the Eastern Bloc. Little do they know that it also provided an intellectually rich environment, making up for the huge gaps in our upbringing, weather perceived or real. Additionally, the love and respect within family and friends that one learned at a young age is one\u2019s \u201cbaggage\u201d that didn\u2019t need its own airline tag when someone, eventually, was able to make it over here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without reminiscing over a childhood stolen from my generation amidst pioneer camps and other ridiculous mandatory engagements, becoming “a well-rounded member of the society” as a goal drilled into us came with high expectations: playing a musical instrument, learning foreign languages other than Russian, excelling in some sports, and participating in activities that prepared young pioneers for real life. All of the above in addition to getting top grades at school, college-bound from age 6 on a special track, such as science, foreign languages or music. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Staff ID, Szeged Center of Biology Research, Hungarian National Academy of Sciences. <\/em>Image credit: Klebelsberg Library, University of Szeged, Hungary.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is the background that defined Hungarian-born Nobel laureate Katalin Karik\u00f3, detailed in the first chapters about the early years of a Hungarian girl growing up in a small town. Surrounded by a supportive family and friends, her early interests in science could be easily fulfilled with a combination of studies, reading, and hands-on experiments. Coupled with her intellectual curiosity, talent and perseverance, her career trajectory forecasted a highly successful career as a scientist after earning her PhD. But not in communist Hungary.<\/span><\/p>\n

When she was laid off from her research position, she was given an opportunity that very few scholars had in the Eastern Bloc: \u00a0An invitation to become a researcher at an American university. Such a rare opportunity, one would say, but it was based on her scholarly achievements. It came with an exchange visitor\u2019s J visa, allowing her to become a temporary non-resident alien in a vulnerable immigrant status. In the same boat but blessed with extraordinary bosses at Rutgers at the beginning, I was truly appalled to read about Kati (using her popular Hungarian nickname) trying to figure out Americans, including the “bossy” boss, and trying to decide whether it was typical or not to abuse the immigrant, to use power to get her deported or not extend the visa, which would put a quick end to her career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Flying the nest<\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Portrait\"<\/a>

Mural in Budapest. Translation: “The future is written by Hungarians.”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My memory fails me. Was the foreign currency exchange limit per person $50 or still $5 when I was first allowed to get a “blue passport” to visit a “western” (i.e., non-bloc) country? An entire family was rarely issued blue passports to make sure that there was a member remaining in Hungary to return to. For Kati Karik\u00f3, to fulfill an invitation to the United States to work as a researcher was somewhat out of the ordinary in the mid-1980s. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not unheard of is how she was treated in her research institution in Hungary, when she was first let go. Since <\/span>I had the opportunity to work with some brilliant minds as a librarian during that time, I recall the endorsements that young researchers needed to survive and succeed, including the strong support of a well-established researcher, who had to be a loyal member of the reigning party. It was an environment where one needed a formal letter of recommendation from a party member just to be admitted to a PhD program! All\u2019s well if it ends well: The world still benefits from the original idea she rescued from her research in the form of the vaccine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The immigrant experience <\/span><\/h4>\n

Tackling the difficulties of a language that one speaks, albeit not yet fluently, is a common obstacle for many immigrants. If one learned the language mostly from books (the only option at that time), the intonation and pronunciation of spoken English, the local use of idioms or concepts within a discipline would hit hard as confusing and frustrating, in addition to any cultural differences. But Kati Karik\u00f3 wasn\u2019t taken aback. As she puts it: “Besides, let\u2019s face it: When hadn\u2019t I been a fish out of water?”<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon arrival, Kati and her family were lucky to make fast friends with Hungarians who lived in the US. Building bridges connecting the two cultures is a great help at the beginning and often lays the foundations to lifelong friendships. <\/span><\/p>\n

With new friends or not, I bet all immigrants can relate to her very first impressions in the United States, the moments when expectation finally meets reality. \u201cOnce we arrived, I\u2019d thought we\u2019d have access to everything it offered. But now that we were here, I was beginning to understand: There were levels to America, destinations within destinations.” For the American reader, this might sound like an immigrant Karen speaking! To clarify, as immigrants, we don\u2019t feel entitled to have it all, it\u2019s just a reality check.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another side of the immigrant story is unfolding in the book through her husband\u2019s life. To help pay the bills, B\u00e9la Francia would take odd jobs at the beginning, and as a jack-of-all-trades who learned a lot of skills by doing them in Hungary, he quickly became very successful. His story also demonstrates a significant part of the Eastern European mindset. Find out how it works and make it better. Set the goal and figure out the way to get there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Phones\"<\/a>

Do you remember these rotary phones? <\/em>Image credit: Fortepan\/Urb\u00e1n Tam\u00e1s (1981)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the average American, it\u2019s probably also shocking to read about their 5-year-old daughter\u2019s first transatlantic flight to spend the summer in Hungary. The reason was purely financial; it was significantly cheaper than American childcare. Actually, if you think about it, it was much worse than how it sounds today. Can you imagine to be able to make a phone call to your 5-year-old only once a week? Remember, we are talking about the end of the 1980s, when the COCOM list<\/a> banning the import of high technology was still in effect. The embargoed items unavailable for Hungarian families included phones (landlines) and computers, a reminder how lucky we are to have the modern ways of communication nowadays.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before anyone starts worrying about the little girl, two-time Olympic gold medalist rower Susan Francia<\/a> inherited her mother\u2019s perseverance and has found her way to the top too. My favorite chapter, “Susan\u2019s mom,” is one of the most skillfully composed memoir chapters. Spanning a period from 1997 to 2013, the vignettes of Susan\u2019s college years through her rapidly rising career in rowing take turns with details of Kati\u2019s research, brilliantly balancing the technical parts in science and sports with the warm scenes from a close mother-daughter relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kati and the library<\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Quote<\/a>

Click image to enlarge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I must admit that I was delighted to read about her extensive use of the library. At first, that tyrant of a boss of hers did not allow researchers to use daytime for anything else than precious lab work. Kati could visit the library after work only to be kicked out by the librarians at 11 PM. With her intellectual curiosity cranked up to 11, she enjoyed every moment of it (click on the image to enlarge quote on the right).<\/span><\/p>\n

The reader today has no idea how time-consuming it was to find, read, save, collect, and organize articles without the fantastic electronic resources a library provides free of charge today. On top of all that, with very limited access to international print journals in Hungary (take it as a fact from me, the former librarian in a Medical School there). An American academic library must have looked like a treasure trove for Kati. <\/span><\/p>\n

And then there’s more. One day, a wait for the photocopy machine resulted in a life-changing encounter as she entered into a conversation with a reserved, quiet fellow researcher. His name was Drew Weissman. The rest is history: they shared the Nobel Prize in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the University of Szeged, Hungary, has its Karik\u00f3 Katalin Collection. Our Hungarian colleagues in the library at Kati\u2019s alma mater curated an online exhibit (also available in English) to honor her achievements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A non-fiction mystery <\/span><\/h4>\n

Reading about a series of unfortunate events in Kati\u2019s life feels like reading a mystery abundant in plot twists, except that it\u2019s a memoir, based on history and facts. One can\u2019t make this up, I thought, as the details of her adventurous journey, with setbacks and failures over and over, unveiled in the next chapters, leading her from Penn to other institutions, only to end up back in Europe, while her family was always there to support her “obsession” that we call research.<\/span><\/p>\n

As she explains it, ironically, her life followed “a similar pattern: a series of setbacks punctuated by moments of extraordinary breakthrough. The breakthroughs, for the most part, remained almost entirely invisible. The setbacks, though? Those were on full display.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The message<\/span><\/h4>\n

Katalin Karik\u00f3, as most immigrants, received unsolicited advice all the time, including the infamous “stop talking to Hungarian colleagues in Hungarian,” implying we would never learn to speak English well (probably from a monolingual person who never left the state, let alone the country, if I want to be sarcastic, but it did happen to me).<\/span><\/p>\n

As the winner of many prizes, awards, honorary doctorates, and popular votes, she is definitely in the right spot in her career to advise young researchers. Who wouldn\u2019t love to have her as a mentor? Now we have her inspiring memoir as an alternative.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Quote<\/a>

Click image to enlarge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the book, the message is often attributed to others in her life, such as the role a principal investigator should assume (see on the right). T<\/span>he takeaway also comes in the form of thought-provoking questions based on her own experience, such as “how do we find the people who are out there right now, today, doing important work that is going unseen? How do we help get that work funded?” (referring to research in basic science, where the results don\u2019t happen overnight and serious setbacks are part of the process). Her questions remind me that this memoir would be perfect for any book club, especially within academia.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a librarian at an R1 university, I wholeheartedly support her suggestions to distinguish between “markers of quality science” and “markers of prestige,” such as job titles, citation counts, grants, service CV-lines, and the “dollars per net square footage,” a metric that worked against her all the time. <\/span><\/p>\n

With its practical implications now clearly proven, Dr. Karik\u00f3\u2019s scholarly output proves that valuable research might fall victim to current practices in academia. <\/span>Published in the journal <\/span>Immunity<\/i><\/span> in 2005 (!), their landmark paper <\/span>Suppression of RNA recognition by Toll-like receptors: the impact of nucleoside modification and the evolutionary origin of RNA<\/a> barely got any attention. “It took a pandemic for the world to understand what we\u2019d done and why it mattered,” she wrote. <\/span>This article has been cited 2,347 times, as of today, according to Google Scholar. Karik\u00f3\u2019s total citation count is now 26,811, with an h-index of 63, and the numbers have been going up!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>

Click image to visit Katalin Karik\u00f3\u2019s profile in Google Scholar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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From Rutgers University Libraries<\/span><\/h4>\n

Find autobiographies and memoirs written by extraordinary scientists in our collection. A few examples:<\/span><\/p>\n