Jones was 21 when she said that she didn’t actually mind being cheated.

I still have a thousand questions as to why I struggled to act. Why did it take me many circles around the mall and an argument with myself? I once wavered between helping her and ignoring her. All I know for sure is that while walking toward that woman at the bus stop, a miracle happened.

Kariko worked in a few different research jobs before landing a junior position at the University of Pennsylvania. And for many years her career at the UPenn was fragile. She migrated from lab to lab, relying on one senior scientist after another to take her in. She never made more than $60,000 a year. She struggled to raise the funding essential for a scientific career and never had a stable position. Kariko said she endured being made fun of by university colleagues for her dogged pursuit. In 2013, she was kicked out from UPenn — forced to retire. She said in an interview that the university told her that she was unfit for her work. Yet the scientist’s commitment to her work did not falter. “When I was terminated (终止), I didn’t feel sorry for myself,” she said. “I have to focus all the energy on seeking out what’s next.”