Featured Researcher: Dr. Ozlem Tureci

Dr. Ozlem Tureci is a Turkish scientist and one of the co-founders of BioNTech, the pharmaceutical company that made headway on the first COVID-19 vaccine with Pfizer. The vaccine that her company helped create has revolutionized the manner in which vaccines are developed and distributed. After an initial trial with over 43,000 participants, the vaccine was found to be 90% effective. Other vaccines, such as the flu shot, have been found to be about 70% effective, making the COVID vaccine extremely effective.

Since 2018, Dr. Tureci has been serving as the company’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), overseeing the projects to use mRNA technology to treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, and more. She has played a vital role in developing research laboratories and expanding BioNTech’s network.