23 Facts About Kizzmekia Corbett

Kizzmekia "Kizzy" Shanta Corbett was born on January 26,1986 and is an American viral immunologist.

Kizzmekia Corbett joined Harvard following six years at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health based in Bethesda, Maryland.

Kizzmekia Corbett earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014.

In February 2021, Kizzmekia Corbett was highlighted in the Time's "Time100 Next" list under the category of Innovators, with a profile written by Anthony Fauci.

Kizzmekia Corbett was born in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina on January 26,1986, to Rhonda Brooks.

Kizzmekia Corbett grew up in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where she had a large family of step-siblings and foster siblings.

In 2004, Kizzmekia Corbett graduated from Orange High School in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Kizzmekia Corbett is among a cohort of recent UMBC graduates who have risen to prominence in biomedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2014, Kizzmekia Corbett received a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

At the NIH, Kizzmekia Corbett worked on the pathogenesis of respiratory syncytial virus as well as on a project focused on innovative vaccine platform advancement.

From 2009 to 2014, Kizzmekia Corbett studied human antibody responses to dengue virus in Sri Lankan children under the supervision of Aravinda de Silva at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kizzmekia Corbett studied how people produce antibodies in response to dengue fever, and how the genetics of dengue fever impact the severity of a disease.

From April to May 2014, as part of her research for her dissertation, Kizzmekia Corbett worked as a visiting scholar at Genetech Research Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

In October 2014, Kizzmekia Corbett became a research fellow working as a viral immunologist at the NIH.

Kizzmekia Corbett's research aims to uncover mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and host immunity.

Kizzmekia Corbett specifically focuses on development of novel vaccines for coronaviridae.

In December 2021, Kizzmekia Corbett was assigned to Boston's COVID-19 advisory committee by mayor Wu.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kizzmekia Corbett started working on a vaccine to protect people from coronavirus disease.

Kizzmekia Corbett was part of the NIH team who helped solve the cryogenic electron microscopy structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Kizzmekia Corbett stated she cried when the efficacy results showed the mRNA-1273 Moderna vaccine worked.

Kizzmekia Corbett has called for the public to be cautious and respectful of one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that regular hand washing and sneezing into one's elbow can help to minimize the spread of the virus.

Kizzmekia Corbett has worked to rebuild trust with vaccine-hesitant populations such as the Black community.

In May 2020, The Washington Post reported that Kizzmekia Corbett had been scrutinized for tweets lamenting the lack of diversity on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, as well as for her responses to other tweets about data that African Americans were disproportionately dying from the virus.