At our September Service to Science Awards Dinner, the Empowering Research and Discovery Award was presented to Katalin Kariko, PhD and Dr. Drew Weissman. Dr. Kariko and Dr. Weissman, the scientists who led the research and technology development for the therapeutic use of mRNA – the foundation for the COVID vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. They were selected for this recognition because of their groundbreaking work that saved millions of lives and protect millions more from serious illness. Here are the highlights from their acceptance speech.