I am not sure funding Karikó would have worked out. She was using all of her experience in synthesizing mRNA in pursuit of gene therapy. Not being funded led he

I am not sure funding Karikó would have worked out. She was using all of her experience in synthesizing mRNA in pursuit of gene therapy. Not being funded led her to run into Weissman, who was interested in using RNA for vaccines and had run several successful experiments (he co-authored several papers with Fauci the 1990s). It was that serendipity which led to the innovation. Funding her directly may have led to nothing. It seems more notable to me that two people working in the same university were unaware of their mutual interest in RNA. However, I have seen similar things in large companies. When I was analyzing R&D for a 1000 person company, there were several similar projects unaware of their mutual co-existence.