UBC biochemist Pieter Cullis wins Canada Gairdner Award for the role of COVID-19 vaccine

Toronto-When establishing a laboratory at the University of British Columbia in the 1980s, Pieter Cullis said that his “curiosity-based” research was ultimately important in the development of vaccines that benefited hundreds of millions of people. He says he couldn’t imagine playing a role. Of people all over the world.

Professor of Biochemistry in Vancouver was selected as the prestigious Canadian Gale Donner Award winner for his contribution to the development of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

Charis said the praise reminds us that scientific research begins with questions, and even “basic” research can lead to world-changing breakthroughs.

“I think it’s incredible,” Cullis said in an interview prior to the announcement of the Gairdner Awards on Tuesday. “You are working away, you are doing what you are doing, and then who can predict that we will have this kind of influence.”

Cullis of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleagues, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, received the Geardner International Award for developing the underlying technology behind the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, such as those manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

It is believed that Karikó and Weissman have found a way to manipulate messenger RNA to identify the COVID-19 virus and teach cells to make proteins that train the body’s immune system to fight.

The problem was how to get mRNA into cells without degradation. It was a problem that Cullis, co-founder of Vancouver-based biotechnology company Acuitas Therapeutics, had been investigating the chemical composition of cell membranes from the beginning.

His laboratory laid the foundation for a vaccine drug delivery system. This system uses small fat bubbles known as lipid nanoparticles to protect and transport mRNA to cells.

“It’s very noteworthy that we suddenly moved from a situation where we were dealing with a relatively unknown therapeutic approach to what is now billions of weapons around the world,” Charis said. rice field.

Charis said the COVID-19 vaccine represents the “tip of the iceberg” for potential uses of this technology. He sees lipid nanoparticles as a promising new tool that could not only cure the symptoms of the disease, but also usher in a wave of “personalized therapies” that target the root cause. I have.

In their quote, Gairdner’s jury said that the supporting findings of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine could revolutionize the future delivery of effective and safe vaccines, therapies and gene therapies. “.

Gairdner’s accreditation emphasizes the importance of supporting Canada’s scientific innovation, Cullis said, and many of our best-in-class brains have emigrated to the United States in search of professional opportunities. I pointed out that.

“This is something we have to deal with. We are finding ways to create an industry and keeping people in Canada,” he said. “They don’t go south because they want to leave Canada. They go south because they have a job there.”

Canadians have won four of the seven Canada Gairdner Awards this year. It recognizes some of the world’s most important scientific discoveries that affect human health.

Other Gairdner International Award winners are John Dick, a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto, who discovered leukemia stem cells in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, and Stuart of Harvard University, who brought breakthrough discoveries to red blood cells. It was Orkin. To new treatments for disorders such as sickle cell disease.

Zulfiqar Bhutta, a senior scientist at a hospital for sick children in Toronto, was awarded the Gairdner Global Health Award for developing an evidence-based strategy to support the health of children and mothers of those who have reached their limits. ..

The Canada Geardner Wightman Award, awarded to Canadian researchers with outstanding medical leadership, was presented to Deborah Cook at McMaster University for interdisciplinary research in emergency medicine.

According to the organizers, the Gairdner Awards, which include $ 100,000 for each winner, are called “Baby Nobels” because 96 Gairdner laureates have won the Nobel Prize.

This report by Canadian Press was first published on April 5, 2022.