Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is an American viral immunologist at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. She is the recipient of The Franklin Institute’s inaugural Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award and lead scientist behind the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. As a leading viral immunologist, she was part of a team that designed vaccines for other coronaviruses in collaboration with Moderna. She is praised for her scientific brilliance and commanding leadership of the team that designed one of the first highly effective vaccines for COVID-19.
At age 35, Kizzmekia is a powerful role model for generations to come. Growing up in Hillsborough, North Carolina, Corbett became a scientist at age 16. She hadn’t known that Black scientists existed until she met one during a high school summer intern- ship program. Now, she is working hard to save lives. She says, “It is important to me to have made this history and particularly to stand in the forefront for people like myself, to really help every- one, not just in the U.S. but also the world, to see Black women in a different light—as innovators in technology and science,”
Visit Dr Kizzmekia Corbett at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kizzmekiacorbett/
