Nobel Laureate and biochemist Katalin Karikó's groundbreaking work on COVID-19 vaccines earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023, alongside co-collaborator Drew Weissman. She's also the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's 2023 recipient of the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. Karikó, an adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, is best known for her research on messenger RNA — the genetic material that tells our bodies how to make proteins — and the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Karikó and Weissman invented the modified mRNA technology used in Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s vaccines to prevent COVID-19 infection. In this program, Karikó talks about the progress and development of mRNA over the past six decades. Karikó will discuss the journey from the discovery of mRNA in 1961 to its groundbreaking milestone as the first FDA-approved mRNA product in the form of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in 2021. Series: "Science in the Public Interest" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 39337]

UC Santa Cruz developed a computational tool known as UShER that enables real-time SARS-CoV-2 tracking and helps researchers identify new lineages of the virus. The easy-to-use tool and online server creates an evolutionary tree that helps scientists understand genomic mutations by creating new branches, showing the relationships between virus samples and the order in which mutations happened along various lineages as the virus evolves. Series: "UC Santa Cruz News" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 39241]

As part of the 2023 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Kezia Scales, Vice President of Research and Evaluation for PHI, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the long-term care workforce. PHI is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting quality direct care jobs in long-term care settings for older adults and people with disabilities. Their work encompasses workforce development, research, policy advocacy, and public education to bring about systems-level and structural change. Scales discusses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontline workforce and suggests policy and practice opportunities to strengthen the workforce in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities and complex healthcare needs. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38872]

Awarded with the 2022 Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, Bryan T. Grenfell discusses population biology and the evolution of infectious diseases in his presentation during the Kyoto Prize Symposium. Grenfell’s achievements have helped researchers understand infection mechanisms of viruses such as COVID-19 and have aided in proposing effective infectious disease control policies. Grenfell, a population biologist and professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, proposed phylodynamics as a methodology to predict the infectious disease dynamics of RNA viruses by considering viral evolution, thus contributing to the development of research fields that integrate immune dynamics, epidemiology, and evolutionary biology. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 38573]

Derrick J. Rossi, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Convelo Therapeutics has a long history of pioneering methods to make stem cell–based treatments for disease a reality. He shares stories of science making its way from the lab and into biotech with the intention of improving the lives of patients. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 38404]

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives and policymakers at the local and state level are seeking solutions to help restore the health and well-being of Californians. In this program, Dr. Rita Hamad discusses ways to bolster the safety net for people most impacted by the pandemic. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38198]

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives over the last two years. Policymakers at the local, state, and federal level are seeking solutions to myriad problems including addressing rising rates of substance misuse and addiction. In this program, experts discuss the increase in opioid use and overdose deaths as well as the increase in youth using e-cigarettes. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38200]

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives, and policymakers at the local, state, and federal level are seeking solutions to help restore the health and well-being of Californians. In this program, Joanne Spetz examines the impact the pandemic has had on healthcare workers, from burnout to physical and mental health impacts, and what leaders can do to resolve the crisis. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38201]

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives, and policymakers at the local, state, and federal level are seeking solutions to help restore the health and well-being of Californians. In this program, Dr. Naomi Bardach discusses the impact the pandemic had on children, educators and families and the measures schools employed to keep students and teachers safe while continuing to educate kids. She explains what the research found and best practices for moving forward. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Education] [Show ID: 38202]

For San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, public office is about the opportunity to improve the lives of the people he serves. Fletcher's road to public service is grounded in a difficult upbringing where he and his mother endured domestic violence and poverty in the South. He worked during high school to support his family, went to college on a football scholarship and served a decade in the Marine Corps. Fletcher says looking forward and a commitment to community is important. As the leading face of San Diego's COVID-19 response plan, Fletcher acknowledges how difficult the pandemic has been on people, from health care workers to parents to small business owners. He says many challenges - homelessness, poverty, mental illness and high cost of housing - remain, and he is committed to continue to fight forward. Series: "Triton Talks" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 38069]