The Nobel prizes award season is kicking off with the announcement of the winner of this year’s medicine award. Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic. The medicine prize has been awarded 114 times to a total of 227 laureates — the title given to winners. Only 13 women have won been awarded the prize that carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.
