Future writers on the global COVID-19 pandemic will have a variety stories to tell. Included in the stories will be the hundreds of women scientists who helped develop the COVID-19 vaccine in record-breaking time.

Women of many disciplines such as immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, epidemiology worked using several interdisciplinary tools.

This article will highlight the work of several women who helped bring forward the understanding of the coronavirus and the COVID-19 vaccine. One of the first breakthroughs was due to decades-long research done by chemist Dr. Katalin Kariko, a Hungarian immigrant who came to America in the 1970s at the invitation of Temple University in Philadelphia.

Kariko describes her long journey of studying mRNA as one of setbacks, job losses, doubt and rejection. In spite of many hurdles, she stood by her conviction that mRNA could be used for something truly groundbreaking. Her work paid off and her research results are the basis of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Kariko and Dr. Drew Weissman, a former UPenn colleague and became research partners to continue Kariko’s studies. They successfully developed a method of utilizing synthetic mRNA that changes the way the body produces virus-fighting material and is the foundation of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Kariko’s conviction that mRNA could be used for something truly groundbreaking is proven. COVID-19 vaccine has saved millions of people around the world. Kariko and Weissman have been nominated for a Nobel Prize.

Dr. Lauren Gardner, co-director of the Systems Science and Engineering Center, explores how people and things moving around the world spread infectious diseases. Part of her research involves identifying high-risk shipping and air traffic routes. Since 2011, she has helped to stem the flow of world-wide infectious diseases and many virus outbreaks.

Shortly after the coronavirus began, Gardner used her engineering skills to create a worldwide dashboard to share statistics and information about the pandemic. It is located at John Hopkins University. The dashboard is used by 1.2 billion requests a day.

Because of her interest in pollution Dr. Linsey Marr earned a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Her attention turned to the transmission of viruses when her little son started attending day care. Throughout his first year, he kept getting sniffles and other small diseases. Learning that other students in his classroom were experiencing the same symptoms, Marr wondered why.

In an interview by New York Times, Marr stated, “I was surprised to find out we don’t even know how much of the flu is spread through the air or through touching. There was so little known about it that this personal fascination became an obsession.”

Several findings resulted from her research projects:

• Microscopic droplets in the flu virus are small enough to remain floating in the air for over an hour
• Flu virus is associated with the season’s humidity
• Airborne roots play a role in how quickly viruses spread

It was during the coronavirus pandemic that the world recognized Marr for her expertise in the behavior of viruses. Dr. X.J. Meng, a Virginia Tech professor, said, “Dr. Marr is really the star in the field right now. She is one of very few scientists who has this ability to study aerosol transmission.

She can use engineering tools to study the dynamics of viruses and bacteria in the air. If you look at her work, she collaborates with virologists, epidemiologists, physicians and public health specialists. Her work is interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary to solve public health problems.”

Marr’s maternal and scientific curiosity and her multidisciplinary background have made her one of the world’s leading scientists on airborne viruses.

There is not enough space here to profile all the extraordinary women scientists who are doing extraordinary research finding new information about COVID-19.

The importance of women scientists solving problems presented by the pandemic cannot be overstated. They bring special experiences and skill sets in their search for answers.

 Editor’s note: Dr. Kathleen Karol wrote this for Women’s Watch.