Kizzmekia S. Corbett, Ph.D.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire, Ph.D., is the Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Freeman Hrabowski Scholar. She is also a Shutzer assistant professor at Harvard’s Radcliff Institute of Advanced Study and Associate Member of the Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute. Her laboratory studies host immune responses to coronaviruses and other emerging and re-emerging viruses to propel novel vaccine and antibody therapy development.
Corbett-Helaire received a B.S. in biological sciences, with a secondary major in sociology, in 2008 from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and NIH undergraduate scholar. She then obtained her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology in 2014 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, holding multiple honors, including a director’s scholarship.
Prior to Harvard, she was a research fellow and scientific lead at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Vaccine Research Center. Corbett-Helaire’s NIH team co-designed a leading COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, from viral sequence and rapidly deployed it to industry partner, Moderna, Inc., for Phase 1 clinical trial, which unprecedentedly began only 66 days from viral sequence release. mRNA-1273 is a now used around the world to prevent COVID-19 disease.
Alongside mRNA-1273, Corbett-Helaire boasts a patent portfolio that includes universal coronavirus and influenza vaccine concepts and novel therapeutic antibodies. In all, she has more than 15 years of experience studying dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus and coronaviruses, garnering several prestigious awards and recognitions, such as the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding.
Combining her research goals with her knack for mentorship, Corbett-Helaire invests much of her time in underserved communities as an advocate of STEM education and vaccine awareness.