In 1989, after immigrating from Hungary and searching for four years for her dream job as a scientist in the U.S., Dr. Katalin Kariko begins work as a research assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Here Katalin submits her first grant application proposing work to establish mRNA-based gene therapy.

Seven applicants applied for six grants, and Katalin is the one rejected.

This is just the first of many rejections, and Katalin will spend the next couple of decades fighting for the ear of the scientific community.

Katalin imagines a future where mRNA is used to create insulin for diabetics, fight cancer cells, and even extend the life span of human cells. What Katalin doesn’t imagine, is that in a little more than 20 years, a virus will sweep the globe, wiping out over 3 million people, and her mRNA discovery will be used in the vaccines that will save several million lives.

This play will follow Katalin through her 30 years of fighting for the chance to make a difference. No one believes in her mRNA-based gene therapy. No one will publish her papers or give her the grant money she needs, until she becomes the unlikely hero of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we’re listening.

I hope this play will inspire young scientists and spark the possibility of change in those who don’t believe in the safety or efficacy of the vaccine.