speak about it differently to your physician. It helps you to realize that you have the ability to change the outcome. Oftentimes, when one pandemic comes it doesn ’ t wipe out other ones, but it does push other pandemics to the backburner. COVID-19 pushed HIV to the backburner. I heard this story of a young man who came into the emergency department dying from AIDS. When asked why he hadn ’ t come sooner, he said: “ I figured it was AIDS. ” You would think that would prompt him to come to the doctor, but he felt so much shame. And he died. I just want people to release the shame that prevents them from seeking help. You recently joined the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Can you share your central objectives in leading the Corbett Lab? What do you hope to accomplish in the next stage of your career? Science-wise, I have a high goal. By the end of my career, whether I do it or not, I would love for there to be, not necessarily a cure, but equity of health outcomes for
Dr. Corbett and Dr. Graham, former Deputy Director at the Vaccine Research Center, with the scientists at the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center responsible for the development of the life-saving COVID-19 vaccines
the common cold — the school of viruses that includes coronaviruses. This will most likely be achieved through vaccination. Coronaviruses are a problem that we live with because people think that there ’ s nothing we can do differently. But 50,000 people a year die from the flu in this country. I want to improve that during my career. I used to always say that if I get a Nobel Prize, it ’ s going to be for curing the common cold. From a legacy standpoint, I would like for the doors that I ’ ve opened for women and young Black women in the sciences to remain open. I want people to have it easier than I did, to avoid the glass ceilings and not have to fight. I had to achieve a body of work that most people, in general, will not have accomplished in their lifetime just to get a job, which is not even a tenured position. This is a fight that I would not want anyone to have. It has informed who I am today. But resilience is exhausting, and it is actually not necessary. You want to be successful, well-rounded and empathetic without having to be torn down in the process. Many young people, especially young Black Americans, look up to you as an inspiration. What do you hope youth learn from your accomplishments and commitment to public service? I hope they learn that you can be yourself. No dream is too big. But part of the reason why people don ’ t have big dreams is because they feel like the type of person that they are would never be able to achieve them. Be yourself and do the best that you can, and it will all work out. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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