As the world looks for solutions to the coronavirus pandemic, Dr Kizzmekia Corbett, a doctor, is leading efforts to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Dr Corbett, a viral immunologist by training with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, began her research in January 2020 when researchers first gathered knowledge of the novel COVID-19 that was similar to pneumonia.
As a doctor at the National Institute of Health in Maryland, she started intense research for a vaccine. While vaccines usually take up to two years to develop, Dr Corbett is leading a team in charge of efforts to find a vaccine for COVID-19.
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The team is now using the template for the SARS vaccine since the Coronavirus comes from the same family, swapping genetic code to make it more palatable for the current virus.
Currently, Dr Corbett and her team are already running the first human trials of the vaccine in Seattle, just 66 days after the initial viral sequence was released.
Below is her Tweet:
Our (co-inventors @McLellan_Lab) COVID-19 vaccine (spike delivered by @moderna_tx‘s mRNA) was just injected into the 1st human in phase 1 trial, only 66 days after viral sequence release… a testament to rapid vaccine development for emerging diseases🦠💚https://t.co/2DLZsdirAD
— KizzyPhD (@KizzyPhD) March 16, 2020
Dr Kizzmekia S Corbett is a senior research fellow @NIH, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Ctr (VRC). A viral immunologist by training, @KizzyPhD focuses on elucidating mechanisms of viral pathogenesis & host immunity as it pertain to vaccines. pic.twitter.com/60dpNJU7iP
— BlackWomenPhDs (@BlackWomenPhDs) March 23, 2020
