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FT People of the Year: BioNTech's Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci

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发表于 1-6-2021 16:37:06 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
Joe Miller and Clive Cookson,  A Scientific and Business Story. Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci developed an effective vaccine in less than a year, kick-starting the fightback against coronavirus. Now the BioNTech co-founders want to use their technology to treat cancer. Financial Times, Dec 17, 2020, at page 15 (under the heading: FT BIG READ).
https://www.ft.com/content/6633221e-3b28-4a15-b02d-958854644c79

Quotation in the window of print: 'We understood that we needed a versatile technology to enable personalised vaccine approaches.'  Ugur Sahin

Note:
(a) Recently "Ozlem Tureci [wife; 1967- (53 years old)] and Ugur Sahin [husband; 55 years old per this article] * * * their home in the German city of Mainz, listening to '80s pop playlists. * * * The multibillion-euro effort the two doctor-scientists launched, codenamed Project Lightspeed, led to 'the fastest development of a vaccine since Edward Jenner [an English man who earned his medical degree from the University of St Andrews (1413-; public; at St Andrews, Scotland) in 1792] inoculated his gardener's son with cowpox in 1796,' says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at University of East Anglia. The previous modern record for a vaccine, achieved in the 1960s for mumps, was four years.

(i) Mainz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainz
(capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate; on the left bank of Rhine, opposite confluence of the Main [river, the longest tributary of the Rhine; both Maine and Main are pronounced the same];  population of 218,578 (as of 2019) and forms part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region; the name of Mainz is not from Main [judging from etymology])
(ii) playlist (n): "a list of recordings to be played on the air by a radio station  also : a similar list used for organizing a personal digital music collection" (on a digital video disk: Wikipedia for playlist)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playlist
(iii) The English surname Jenner is an "occupational name for a designer or engineer, from a Middle English reduced form of Old French engineor contriver." Dictionary of American Family Names.
(iv)
(A) cowpox
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpox
(introduction)
(B) Latin-English dictionary:
* vaccinus (adjective masculine; from [noun feminine] vacca [cow] +‎ -īnus)
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vaccinus
(v)
(A) University of East Anglia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_East_Anglia  
(1963; public; at Norwich, Norfolk)
(B) East Anglia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Anglia
(vi) mumps vaccine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumps_vaccine
(section 1 History: "In 1963, Maurice Hilleman of Merck & Co. took samples of the mumps virus from his daughter, who had contracted the disease; she became the namesake for the resulting Jeryl Lynn strain. Building on then-recent advances that had led to vaccines for polio and measles, the mumps virus strains were developed in embryonic hens' eggs and chick embryo cell cultures.[4] The resulting strains of virus were less well-suited for human cells, and are thus said to be attenuated [medical term for 'weakened']. * * * Hilleman's work led to the first effective mumps vaccine, called Mumpsvax. Licensed in 1967, its four-year development set a record for fastest development of a new vaccine" (citations omitted)

Merck still uses Mumpsvax under the trademark of "MMR II."

(b) Besides BioNTech and Moderna, "Oxford university and AstraZeneca's vaccine might have a similar response rate at some doses — and given its lower manufacturing costs, could be widely used in the developing world. Chinese and Russian vaccines might turn out to be highly effective once they undergo further overseas tests."

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 楼主| 发表于 1-6-2021 16:41:44 | 显示全部楼层
本帖最后由 choi 于 1-7-2021 11:54 编辑

(c) "After [the couple's] meeting as trainee doctors on a blood cancer ward in south-west Germany in the early 1990s [Web: Saarland University medical center in Homburg] * * * While still practising medicine, Dr Tureci and Dr Sahin * * * Cancers, it turned out, were too varied to be attacked by a catch-all drug [the emphasis is on 'a' -- one drug, as opposed to a drug against one or a few cancers]. * * * In 2001, the couple founded Ganymed — a spin-off from the university, to develop therapeutic antibodies. * * * was able to develop 20 Covid-19 vaccine candidates in a matter of weeks, using a row of labs on the company's start-up style campus, and forming rotas on a whiteboard in the corridor.
(i) medical and research degrees in Germany: In a nutshell, in Germany a medical degree (Dr Med) takes six years for a high school graduate *Germany did not gave the American equivalent of MD/PhD until recently), whereas its highest degrees in biomedical field is "Dr rer nat."   
(A) doctorate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctorate#Germany   
(B) Zavlin D et al, A Comparison of Medical education in Germany and the United States: from applying to medical school to the beginnings of residency. German Medical Science 15: Doc15 (2017).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5617919/
("Abstract (sectional heading):] the paths from enrolling in a medical university to graduating as a medical doctor in Germany and the US seem to have become much different. * * * Tuition loans of over $200,000 are not uncommon for students in the US after graduating from medical schools, which are often private institutions. In Germany, however, the vast majority of medical universities are tax-funded and, for this reason, free of tuition. * * * Germany currently employs an integrated medical curriculum that typically begins right after high school and consists of a 2-year long pre-clinical segment teaching basic sciences and a 4-year clinical segment leading medical students to the practical aspects of medicine. * * * [Background:] * * * during the second half of the 20th century, the two countries [Germany and US] appear to have drifted apart in the context of medicine. Germany employs a governmentally controlled universal multi-payer system ensuring medical health coverage for close to 100% of its citizens, whereas the United States heavily relies on insurers from the for-profit private sector. The United States has also instituted a fairly standardized 4-year medical degree (MD or DO [Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine]) across their nation, which generally requires prior 3–4 years of undergraduate education with a Bachelor's degree where the enrolled students disburse the large tuition costs. In Germany, however, the vast majority of medical schools are state and tax-funded. They encompass a fairly standardized integrated 6-year curriculum that begins directly after high school and culminates in a medical degree after successful completion of all state board exams (Staatsexamen). * * * [Medical school in Germany (which is sectional heading) Current situation [which is subheading:] Medical education in the Federal Republic of Germany is offered through one of the 36 medical faculties of public universities that are tax-funded through the respective states [Germany has 16] * * * Private universities * * * are a small minority and are not considered within this review. Almost 80,000 students are enrolled in a medical program. Each year, almost 10,000 new students begin medical school while 6,000 successfully graduate. * * * Recent estimates demonstrate approximately 5 or more applicants per spot in [medical schools of] public universities, depending on class and year. * * * [Application process (subheading):] The major criterion for a successful application and matching in one of the medical programs is the grade point average, or GPA (Abiturschnitt), after leaving high-school (Gymnasium). * * * In addition to that, a large number of universities provide bonuses for participating and passing an exam called TMS (Test für Medizinische Studiengänge), which is similar to the American Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). * * * [4-year clinical segment (which is subheading):] the final [6th] year of medical school constitutes three rotations of 16 weeks each: internal medicine, surgery, and one elective outside of surgery or internal medicine. * * * German medical schools require the submitting and defending [of] their 'Dr. med.' thesis in an oral exam. In the United States, however, a doctoral degree, either as M.D. or D.O., is automatically awarded upon graduation regardless of scientific accomplishments")

• "The United States has also instituted a fairly standardized 4-year medical degree (MD or DO) across their nation, which generally requires prior 3–4 years of undergraduate education with a Bachelor's degree"

"3–4 years." Why 3?

Seven-Year Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program. Boston University, undatedhttps://www.bu.edu/academics/cas ... -education-program/  ("Students are awarded the bachelor of arts at the completion of the first year at the School of Medicine and the doctor of medicine at the completion of the program")

Seven-Year Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program Requirements. Boston University, undatedhttps://www.bu.edu/admissions/ap ... dical-requirements/  
("Minimum Required Secondary School Course Requirements: Eligible applicants must complete four full years of secondary school education and be a current senior when they apply. Students who have graduated from secondary school but have not enrolled in any college-level degree program may also apply")

• Staatsexamen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staatsexamen
("In medicine, the Staatsexamen (Ärztliche Prüfung, or physician exam) consists of three parts as of 2013. The first part is taken after the first two years of the six-year medical degree, ie, after the basic sciences part of the degree (somewhat similar to US pre-med [ie, undergraduate]) whereas the second part is taken after the fifth year of studies. Following a practical year, the third part follows at the end of the six-year medical degree")

• German-Englih dictionary:
Staat (noun masculine; same origin as English nouns state, status and estate, ultimately from Latin [noun masculine] stātus [state, status]): "state"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Staat
Examen (noun neuter; borrowed from Latin [noun neuter] exāmen [noun of Latin verb exāmināre examine] in the 16th century): "exam (particularly at the end of university studies eg Final Exam)"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Examen
Abiturschnitt (noun; from Abitur + noun masculine Schnitt cutting [a form of verb schneiden cut])
https://www.linguee.com/german-e ... /abiturschnitt.html
   ^ Abitur (noun neuter; etymology): "final exams taken by pupils at the end of their secondary education in Germany and Finland"
      https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Abitur
Gymnasium (noun neuter): "high school"
https://www.linguee.com/english- ... amp;query=Gymnasium
   ^ from Latin noun neuter of the same spelling, from Ancient Greek of similar spelling.
German noun masculine Test is borrowed from English noun and verb test, which was in turn borrowed from Old French of the same spelling, that came from Latin noun of similar spelling.
Medizinische (adj; from [noun feminine] Medizin [medicine] +‎ -isch; plural Medizinische): "medical"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/medizinisch
Studiengäng (noun masculine; plural Studiengänge): "academic course, study path"
   ^ Studiem (noun neuter; plural Studien): "study"
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Studium
   ^ gang (noun masculine'; cognate with English noun gang  people going in company [from Old English verb gangan to go, walk]): "course"
Sonderforschungsbereich (noun masculine): "special research area"
   ^ Sonderbehandlung
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderbehandlung
      (German for "preferential treatment * * * In German, 'Sonder-,' meaning 'special,' can be used to form compound nouns")
   ^ Forschung (noun feminine): "research"
      https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Forschung
   ^ Bereich (noun masculine): "area"
      https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bereich
Promotion (noun feminine): "PhD"
https://www.collinsdictionary.co ... n-english/promotion

• Ann Forde, An Overview of German MD/PhD Programs. Science magazine (unclear if this was published in hard copy), Oct 10, 2003
https://www.sciencemag.org/caree ... rman-mdphd-programs
(in Germany: "the academic titles given to medics and biologists are mutually exclusive--or were, until recently. In Germany, medical students who undertook a doctoral thesis get an MD (Dr. med.); students in biology, including basic biomedical science, got a PhD (Dr. rer. nat.). * * * a very large proportion of medical students in Germany do embark on an MD thesis. Most of these candidates complete a short-term (6 months to 1 year) research project to get this title. But even medical students who worked on longer projects could not officially receive a PhD title for the work, even if it was every bit as good as any biology PhD thesis. In Germany, the title PhD cannot be granted by a medical faculty [faculty means a college or school in a university]. * * * Happily, things are changing; university programs that allow medical graduates to undertake an official PhD are slowly appearing on the German scene. * * * These MD/PhD dual-degree programs normally entail 1 year of seminars and practical courses followed by a compulsory examination. Students then commence their research projects, which take 3 years, on average. In general, no tuition is charged, and financial support is provided for living expenses")

The MD/PhD degree in this Science article is American, not German, degrees.
(ii) CV.  Prof. Dr. med. Ugur Sahin. SFB 1399: Mechanisms of Drug Sensitivity and Resistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer, Department of Translational Genomics, University of Cologne, undated
https://www.sfb1399.de/research/ ... f-dr-med-ugur-sahin
("Academic education
1992 - 1994: Mathematics course, FernUniversität Hagen [English: University of Hagen; 1974- ; public; fern (adj):'remote' /Fernuniversität (noun feminine): 'correspondence school'] , Hagen
1991 - 1992: Internship in Internal Medicine, Hematology-Oncology & AIDS Center, University of Cologne and University of Homburg/Saar, Homburg
1987 - 1990: Doctoral thesis, Clinic I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne (Supervisor Michael Pfreundschuh) Bispezifische monoklonale Antikörper zur Aktivierung von Zytostatikavorstufen an Tumorzellen
1984 - 1990: Medical studies, University of Cologne, Cologne

Scientific degrees
1999: Habilitation [German noun feminine; from Latin verb habilitate to make suitable; in English we are more familiar with rehabilitate] in Molecular Medicine and Immunology at the University of Homburg/Saar, Homburg
1992: Promotion (Summa cum laude)"

• Collaborative Research Centers (SFB). Technical University of Munich, undated
https://www.tum.de/en/research/r ... e-research-centers/
("Collaborative Research Centers ([English acronym:] CRC; [German] short SFB for german 'Sonderforschungsbereich') are university research projects which are funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), generally for a period of up to 12 years")

Each Collaborative Research Center is assigned an Arabic numeral, such as 1399.

• Hagen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagen
(a German city)

• Homburg, Saarland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homburg,_Saarland  
("The medical department of the University of Saarland [whose main campus is located at Saarbrücken, capital and the largest city of Saarland] is situated here")

• habilitation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habilitation
(section 1 History and etymology: "The term became synonymous with post-doctoral qualification in Germany in the 19th century 'when holding a doctorate seemed no longer sufficient to guarantee a proficient transfer of knowledge to the next generation' ")
(iii) Uğur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uğur  
("In both Turkish and Azerbaijani, the word 'uğur' means 'luck' ")

Şahin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Şahin

Özlem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Özlem  
("In Turkish, 'Özlem' means yearning and missing")

I fail to find the meaning of surname Türeci.

(iv) The company name Ganymed is after Ganymede (which Wiktionary says meant "to please" in Ancient Greek.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganymede_(mythology)
(v)
(A) rota (n; Early 17th century from Latin [noun feminine], literally 'wheel'): "British   a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job. Compare with roster [which means only member list (no job assignment) and which does not share etymology]"
https://www.lexico.com/definition/rota
(B) rota
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rota
(may refer to: "a term for a schedule (workplace), a list of employees who are working on any given day, week, or month")

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 楼主| 发表于 1-6-2021 16:42:13 | 显示全部楼层
(d) "Despite the enormous success of Ganymed, which was sold for $1.4bn, in 2016, in Germany’s biggest biotech deal, the couple never gave up on mRNA. While running the business, they continued their research at Mainz university. * * * they also met mRNA pioneer Katalin Kariko, a Hungarian-born scientist shunned by superiors at the University of Pennsylvania whose patented innovation was used as the basis for the successful Covid-19 vaccine."
(i)
(A) News release: Astellas to Acquire Ganymed Pharmaceuticals; Acquisition would expand Astellas' oncology pipeline with antibody in late-stage. Astellas, Oct 28, 2016
https://newsroom.astellas.us/201 ... med-Pharmaceuticals
("Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG (CEO; Özlem Türeci, 'Ganymed'), a biopharmaceutical company located in Mainz, Germany which focuses on the development of antibodies against cancer * * * Ganymed is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company founded in 2001 and focuses on the development of a new class of cancer drugs" with monoclonal antibodies)
(B) Astellas Pharma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astellas_Pharma

Yanagita Y and Takenaka T, Astellas' Drug Discovery Strategy: Focus on Oncology. Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, 42: 241 (2012)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3314323/
(" 'Astellas' expresses the idea of 'aspired stars' and 'advanced stars' based on the Latin 'stella,' Greek 'aster' and English [adjective only, not noun] 'stellar,' which all refer to 'stars.' 'Astellas' also sounds like the Japanese phrase 'a-su wo te-ra-su' which means ‘to shine on tomorrow' ")
(C) Japanese-English dictionary:
* 明日 【あした [pronounced ashita] (P); あす [pronounced asu] (P)】 (n): "tomorrow"
* terasu 照らす 【てらす】 (vt): "to shine on; to illuminate"
(ii) Katalin Kariko is a woman, who will be discussed in the next posting.
(iii) University of Mainz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Mainz
(1477- ; public)
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