The Brains of the COVID-19 Vaccine: Kizzmekia Corbett
March 2025
By ALEXA DREYFUS
Edited by DANNAH ALTITI
When lining up for the COVID-19 vaccine in 2020, did you ever stop to consider the scientific process that made it possible? One of the brains behind the vaccine that helped bring the world back to normalcy belongs to Kizzmekia Corbett. Corbett is a Black female scientist who is an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She received a B.S. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, before earning her PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Corbett is recognized as one of the critical individuals who helped develop the vaccine that took the world from a global pandemic and eased it back into a nearly pre-pandemic world.
Corbett was part of a team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that worked with Moderna to develop a vaccine with emergency use authorization. The vaccine that was developed is more than 90% effective against the clinical disease and was proven to be safe for use. This vaccine was one of a few SARS-CoV0-2 vaccines, alongside one developed by Pfizer, that received authorization for use by the FDA. She further led the preclinical studies for the Phase I clinical trial, ensuring that people of color, historically lacking in clinical research, were included in the studies to accurately represent their portion of the population so that the vaccine can equally benefit every community being affected by COVID-19. The monumental work that Corbett contributed to the mRNA vaccine allowed her to receive a TIME Magazine hero of the Year designation.
Although nearly the entire country received the COVID-19 vaccine, few understand how these vaccines work. The vaccines developed, including the one by Corbett, are mRNA vaccines.
These include messenger RNA molecules that tell your body to make the spike protein found on coronaviruses. This allows your body to be alert to that protein in order to create antibodies and immune cells that can recognize the protein and fight against it when exposed. The COVID-19 vaccines require COVID boosters, as the virus that causes COVID-19 may have variation due to mutations. Thus, it is critical to continuously watch out for new boosters coming out to keep protected against COVID-19.
Following her work on the mRNA vaccine, Corbett has continued to help underserved communities through advocacy of STEM education as well as vaccine awareness. Black communities were being affected at a disproportionate rate by COVID-19, making it critical for Corbett to advocate for the use of this vaccine through proving its safety and efficacy. In response to questions about vaccine access equity, Corbett explained in Nature that “vaccines have the potential to be the equalizer of health disparities,” as she hopes that it is able to help her own community receive equal benefits.
So, the next time that you are sitting at a pharmacy waiting for your newest COVID-19 booster, think about the brains and effort that went into developing this revolutionary preventative care.
References/Works Cited:
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“Kizzmekia Corbett.” Hilleman Film, 1 November 2021, https://hillemanfilm.com/resources/other-scientist-stories/kizzmekia-corbett. Accessed 6 April 2025.
“Kizzmekia Corbett.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kizzmekia_Corbett. Accessed 6 April 2025.
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Romero, Laura. “Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American woman, is praised as key scientist behind COVID-19 vaccine.” ABC News, 13 December 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/kizzmekia-corbett-african-american-woman-praised-key-s cientist/story?id=74679965. Accessed 6 April 2025.
“Understanding COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines.” National Human Genome Research Institute, 30 August 2021, https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Understanding-COVID-19-mRNA-Vaccines. Accessed 6 April 2025.
“Vaccinologist Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire on COVID-19 vaccines, boosters, and more.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 8 November 2023, https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/vaccinologist-kizzmekia-corbett-helaire-on-covid-19-vacci nes-boosters-and-more/. Accessed 6 April 2025.
Werdann, Michelle. “COVID-19 Vaccine developer Kizzmekia Corbett to visit University for Discover Science lecture April 28.” University of Nevada, Reno, 20 April 2022, https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2022/discover-science-kizzmekia-corbett. Accessed 6 April 2025.
