WHEREAS, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is a 34-year-old African-American viral immunologist, and one of the key scientists behind the Moderna coronavirus vaccine. She has 15 years of expertise studying dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and coronaviruses. She is a research fellow and the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center (VRC); and
WHEREAS, Dr. Corbett received a B.S. in Biological Sciences, with a secondary major in Sociology, in 2008 from the University of Maryland - Baltimore County, where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and an NIH undergraduate scholar. She obtained her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 2014 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Corbett's work and expertise focuses on developing novel coronavirus vaccines, including mRNA-1273, a leading candidate vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, In response to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccine concept incorporated in mRNA-1273 was designed by Dr. Corbett’s team from viral sequence data and rapidly deployed to industry partner, Moderna, Inc., for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Phase 1 clinical trial, which unprecedently began only 66 days from the viral sequence release; and
WHEREAS, Alongside mRNA-1273, Dr. Corbett’s team boasts a portfolio that also includes universal coronavirus vaccine concepts and novel therapeutic antibodies. Additionally, Dr. Corbett spent several years working on a universal influenza vaccine, which is slated for Phase 1 clinical trial; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Corbett is also an active member of the NIH Fellows Committee and avid advocator of STEM education and vaccine awareness in the community. Her understanding of sociocultural issues and her knowledge of science has made her an influential person in the scientific community; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Corbett is an expert on the front lines of the global race for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and will go down in history as one of the key players in developing the science that could end the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby honors and recognizes Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett for her leadership on the National Institutes of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine research.
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