When President Donald Trump created a visit to the National Institutes of Health Last March, the leaders of the vaccine research center explained their lifesaving mission. The key to that mission was a 34-year-old doctor named Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett.
“I was just there on the task force to talk about the work we’ve done,” Corbett told “CBS This Morning: Saturday,” co-host Michelle Miller.
Two weeks after the visit, Corbett’s team began the first phase of clinical trials. She said they have applied much of the knowledge they have gained over the past six years to a vaccine platform in partnership with Moderna. The vaccine was rolled out 10 months later.
“The vaccine teaches the body how to fight off a virus because it teaches the body to look for the virus by actually showing the body the virus’ spike protein,” she explained. The body then says, “Oh, we’ve seen this protein before. Let’s fight it. ” That’s how it works.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, mentioned Corbett for her work during a webinar.
“The vaccine you will be using was developed by an African American woman, and it is a fact,” said Fauci.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 6.5 million Americans received their first dose Covid-19 vaccine. That number is expected to grow on a daily basis, although it falls well behind what public health experts hoped to see.
Corbett’s interest in science began at an early age, but she never knew what difference she would make.
“To be honest, I didn’t realize how much impact my visibility could have … I do my job because I love my job,” said Corbett.
An opportunity in her life made a significant difference. She attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore, as a Meyerhoff Scholar, an aggressive program that guides minorities and women in science. Graduates of the program include Surgeon General Jerome Adams.
Dr. Freeman Hrabowski has served as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore for nearly 30 years. He said Corbett had a strong scientific background, but the way she could talk to people separated her from the rest.
“She would certainly make it in life,” said Hrabowski. “We need more scientists who can connect with people. She could easily do that when she was 17. What we do at UMBC is to support color students, black, as well as students in general to make sure that they make it in science. “
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 18% of all students graduate with a STEM degree, 2% of which are black – something that Hrabowski says needs to change.
“It’s important for people to see that people are like them, like themselves, who can be involved. Whether it’s about women or about blacks, because it shows that you have people who understand what you’ve been through.”
Dr. Barney Graham and Corbett have been working together for over 15 years. Graham isn’t just her mentor. He is also Corbett’s boss as Deputy Director of the Vaccine Research Center.
“When you recognize that someone has special qualities, you have to do things that can keep those other things out of the way and avoid some of the dismissive attitude that often occurs not only in minority people but also in women,” said Graham.
Historically, that bias affects not only professionals in the field, but also those they serve. In 1931, scientists conducted the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a study by the Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute. It examined the progression of syphilis by leaving infected black men untreated, without regard to the distress it caused.
Another oft-cited example is the removal of special cells from Henretta Lacks, a cancer patient from Baltimore, Maryland. In 1951, a research team from Johns Hopkins University removed Lacks’ cells without her consent and used them for medical research worth billions of dollars. Flaws died of cancer and her family was never reimbursed.
“There are many other examples of supposedly objective scientists who cared about everyone, who appreciated people of color less … It’s a painful truth,” Hrabowski said.
Corbett’s understanding of the socio-cultural issues and her knowledge of science have made her an influential person in the scientific community.
At a time when vaccine skepticism is high among African Americans, Corbett hopes that black people will trust the vaccine and trust the scientists who work behind the scenes to bring it to the American people.
“Number one is I get it. And number two is to really take advantage of the level of transparency we’re trying … even I haven’t seen it before, like FDA Hearings and briefings that are broadcast online, and the data comes out almost immediately, ”she said.
What Dr. Hrabowski, he believes Corbett deserves all the visibility she can get.
“She can’t be a hidden figure,” he said. ‘She should be in textbooks. Little girls need to see her – of all races. This is what is possible. ‘