Oddbean

The University of Pennsylvani is acting proud of Katalin Karikó now that she's won a Nobel Prize. But they kicked her out of her tenure track job when she insisted on doing the work that won her that prize: "She recalls spending one Christmas and New Year’s Eve conducting experiments and writing grant applications. But many other scientists were turning away from the field, and her bosses at UPenn felt mRNA had shown itself to be impractical and she was wasting her time. They issued an ultimatum, if she wanted to continue working with mRNA she would lose her prestigious faculty position, and face a substantial pay cut. ”It was particularly horrible as that same week, I had just been diagnosed with cancer,” said Karikó. “I was facing two operations, and my husband, who had gone back to Hungary to pick up his green card, had got stranded there because of some visa issue, meaning he couldn’t come back for six months. I was really struggling, and then they told me this." "While undergoing surgery, Karikó assessed her options. She decided to stay, accept the humiliation of being demoted, and continue to doggedly pursue the problem. This led to a chance meeting which would both change the course of her career, and that of science." Elsewhere she recalled: “I thought of going somewhere else, or doing something else. I also thought maybe I’m not good enough, not smart enough." She's now an adjunct in UPenn's neurosurgery department. Will they make her tenure-track now? Luckily she also has a good job at BioNTech. Both quotes here come from interesting stories. The first is from here: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mrna-coronavirus-vaccine-pfizer-biontech The second is from here: https://billypenn.com/2020/12/29/university-pennsylvania-covid-vaccine-mrna-kariko-demoted-biontech-pfizer/ https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/111/167/287/127/975/745/original/2bccdf1795f16e02.jpg

@b4c50e1b She's an SVP at BioNTech and has been in private industry for the last 10 years (after starting her own company to attempt to commercialize in 2006). I don't think at that point you have time or need to be TT. Not to take away that UPenn trying to bask in the achievement seems very off putting. I wonder why she stayed there especially after the 2005 papers were published.

@b4c50e1b Makes me think of that Twitter thread that convincingly called into question Elon Musk's claims of having gotten a physics degree from UPenn and how it seemed like the administration there went along with it once he was successful.

@b4c50e1b The nice thing is with that Nobel Prize in her pocket, she can go anywhere she wants and work with whoever she wants. She can build a program around what she wants to do and universities will fall at her feet to make it happen now. UPenn will be very fortunate indeed if she ever has anything to do with them again.

@b4c50e1b projecting what I know of Columbia: I read her account to mean she was a research professor— up to 100% soft money faculty & grueling b/c you are at the mercy of funding calls to raise your salary + staff off proposals w <10% success that take months to years to learn outcome Adjunct gives access to libraries, students, postdocs, labs— extremely valuable. still must raise grant $, but removes uni overhead (T1 60%+) for your own salary,but its less secure job than tenured prof

@b4c50e1b I'm so glad she's won the Nobel Prize. There are so many people, especially women who work their butts off on non-lucrative issues and face hard times due to their goals - which might change our future, even create a better one. Bring solutions to so many problems that put us down. But simply are not considered "lucrative" by the heads of instituts & universities or companies.