Covid-19: From Vaccination to Medication

Joint German-Israeli Max Planck Forum on 11 November 2021

Press Release

As of today around 66% of the total German population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and in Israel about 65% whereas the worldwide rate stands by 38%. The global pandemic is not yet over and the vaccination campaign continues at full speed. But what will follow as the coronavirus still continues to mutate?” On November 11th 2021 at 6:30 p.m. the Max Planck Society and the Israeli Consulate General in Munich cordially invited to discuss this question in regard to the topic of mRNA research and its important contribution in the fight against Covid-19 together with three pioneering experts.

Triple mRNA expertise at the event

The work of Prof. Uğur Şahin, co-founder of BioNTech  and his wife Dr. Özlem Türeci in the field of mRNA research led to the development of the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease. Being a Personal Supporting Member of the max Planck Society and awarded with the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, Şahin discussed the evolution of the coronavirus, the development of the vaccine and potential future drugs for the treatment of the coronavirus disease.

Prof. Tzachi Pilpel, who holds the Ben-May Professorial Chair at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, explained how his discovery on ambiguity of the genetic code as manifested by phenotypic errors has a potential to help prepare vaccines for next strains. Pilpel studies the function and evolution of genetic regulatory networks in microbes and mammals by combining experimental, computational biology and theoretical approaches. He chairs the review panel of the European Research Council (ERC) and was awarded the 2020 Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation.

Prof. Patrick Cramer from the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany, gave an insight into targeting SARS-CoV-2 with antiviral drugs like Remdesivir and Molnupiravir and new substances in order to control local outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 and prepare for the emergence of future coronaviruses. The director of the Max Planck Institute aims to understand how our genome is transcribed and regulated in health and disease, how genes are turned on, and how genes are misregulated in disease. He recently received the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine, one of the most prestigious awards in Europe.

Welcome notes:

  • Carmela Shamir, Consul General of the State of Israel in Southern Germany
  • Prof. Ulman Lindenberger, Vice President of the Max Planck Society
  • Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute
Watch the complete event here

Watch the complete event here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uefa9fFEbPI

 

Image Copyrights:
Cramer: © Patrick Cramer
Pilpel: © Weizmann Institute of Science

Sahin: © BioNTech SE 2021, all rights reserved

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