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In honor of wellness and Women's History Month, we highlight the work of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who 

is a viral immunologist. She is also an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Shutzer Assistant Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.  Dr. Corbett joined Harvard following six years at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIAID NIH) based in Bethesda, Maryland. She earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) in 2014.

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Appointed to the VRC in 2014, Corbett was a postdoctoral scientist of the VRC's COVID-19 Team, with research efforts aimed at COVID-19 vaccines.  In October 2014, Corbett became a research fellow working as a viral immunologist at the NIH. Her research aims to uncover mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and host immunity. She specifically focuses on development of novel vaccines for coronavirus.  Her early research considered the development of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) vaccine antigens.  During this time, she identified a simple way to make coronavirus spike proteins that are stabilized in a conformation that renders them more immunogenic and manufacturable, in collaboration with researchers at Scripps Research Institute and Dartmouth College.

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At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Corbett started working on a vaccine to protect people from coronavirus disease. Recognizing that the virus was similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Dr. Corbett's team utilized previous knowledge of optimal coronavirus proteins to tackle COVID-19.  Based on her previous research, Corbett's team, in collaboration with Jason McLellan and other investigators at The University of Texas at Austin, transplanted stabilizing mutations from SARS-CoV S protein into SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. 

 

She was part of the NIH team who helped solve the cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM) structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.  Dr. Corbett's prior research suggested that messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding S protein could be used to excite the immune response to produce protective antibodies against coronavirus disease 2019.  Today, the virus continues to spread in the U.S., however, there are less reported deaths due to the virus.  Researchers continue to work towards finding a cure.

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We celebrate and thank you, Dr. Corbett!

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By Dietra Myers