A conversation with Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
As SARS-CoV-2 swept the globe, Dr. Corbett and her team at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health rushed to design an effective vaccine against it. Just 66 days after the viral sequence was released, her team rapidly deployed the concept to industry partner Moderna for a Phase 1 clinical trial. The vaccine was shown to be 94.1% effective in Phase 3 clinical trials and went on to prevent severe disease and death for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Every step of the way, Dr. Corbett leveraged science for the public good — building trust in communities of color and combating misinformation on the national stage. She continually looks at the “ bigger picture ” beyond her lab and reminds each of us to use our talents to benefit all. Now, at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dr. Corbett will continue to propel novel vaccine development for pandemic preparedness. The COVID-19 emergency may be over, but the legacy of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett will live on. What inspired you to pursue a career in science and public health? Was there an experience that cemented your choice in becoming a viral immunologist? Initially, I was inspired by my mentor during my first internship when I was 16. At the time, I had no idea that he was a world-renowned scientist who
Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD, Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Shutzer Assistant Professor, Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; Associate Member, Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute and Former Research Fellow, Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health
was also incredibly humble. He operated like an academic on a day-to-day basis, speaking, teaching or doing research. Every day, he was doing something different. He was a very dynamic person, and I was inspired by that to pursue a career in science. From a public health perspective, I realized in college that science can only do so much without public outreach, uptake and understanding. So I aspired to intertwine science and public health in my career. As for where viral immunology came from, I was in college from 2004 through 2008 during the HIV epidemic. It was very interesting to live in Baltimore, which is almost always in the top three U.S. cities for HIV infections and death. I saw what HIV was doing in the same way that many burgeoning scientists are seeing what coronaviruses are doing, which is sparking their interest. So I interned at the Vaccine Research Center ( VRC ) at the National Institutes of Health, because I felt like it would be good to study viruses. I ended up not studying HIV for multiple reasons and focused on other viruses like respiratory syncytial virus and later went to graduate school to work on dengue. My interest in coronaviruses was really piqued by the gap in the field. In 2014, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus was heavily circulating in the Middle East. It became very clear that it could cause a pandemic. But the VRC was about to shut down its vaccine program for coronaviruses since, without a global need, there was not a high demand for that type of product. I felt like I was in the right place to work on something that wasn ’ t in high demand for which my interests really fit. It almost felt like the universe aligned. I ’ ve never opted to work on the “ sexiest virus ” at any time. I work on the thing that needs to be worked on. Neglected viruses are generally what attract me. How did each of these experiences inform the next? There was a point during the pandemic where I noticed all of my interests culminating. Take vaccine enhancement. This occurs when a vaccine can actually make you more sick if you get infected, because it causes you to develop a bigger infection. So in dengue, for example, you make a certain type of antibody that ’ s not protective. It still binds to the virus, but instead of binding, neutralizing and killing it, the antibody binds to it and brings it closer to the cell. Then the virus goes into a cell that it normally wouldn ’ t go into, and you get a superinfection.
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