Photo/Illutration Katalin Kariko, right, and Drew Weissman pose at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in this undated photo provided by Penn Medicine. (Peggy Peterson Photography/Penn Medicine via AP)

When Hans Selye (1907-1982) was a young endocrinologist, his superior harshly criticized his research, rebuking him to the effect, “You ought to realize how foolish you are being before you are too old.”

The put-down must have been deeply humiliating.

After Selye became a well-known authority on stress, he authored a book titled “The Stress of Life,” in which he strongly encouraged younger researchers to always believe in themselves and never give up, even if their work seems to make no progress for years.

He said no new discovery can be made without the “self-confidence and optimism to get through long, dull periods.”

A high school girl who became absorbed in reading Selye’s book grew up to win this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for laying the scientific groundwork for the development of the novel coronavirus vaccine.

She is a Hungarian-American biochemist named Katalin Kariko, 68.

In “Korona-go no Mirai” (Post-COVID future), a book compiled and edited by Japanese journalist Kazumoto Ohno, Kariko is quoted as saying she learned from Selye’s book to focus only on what she could do and not waste time thinking about what other people are doing or should be doing.

In fact, her road to success was long and arduous. While working at a university, Kariko’s superior rated her research as “not worth recognizing as socially relevant,” and she was demoted as well. She must have endured many more such humiliations and disappointments.

Had Kariko given up, the COVID-19 vaccine that has saved millions of lives would not have been developed.

Scientific progress is always born from varied and original ideas.

Even at this very moment, I imagine young scientists are struggling with research projects that don’t seem to be going anywhere, but they are still somehow dreaming of future success.

I hope Kariko’s triumph will inspire them to keep going.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 3

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.