Description
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
Biography
Kizzmekia Corbett is a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Vaccine Research Center. Her scientific career began in college with a double major in Biology and Sociology. She was named an NIH Undergraduate Scholar. She earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in 2014 from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her dissertation research included traveling to Sri Lanka. The result, “Dissecting Human Antibody Responses to Dengue Virus Infection,” won several awards.
A viral immunologist by training, Dr. Corbett’s research interests involve understanding viral pathogenesis and host immunity as they pertain to vaccine development. Appointed to the NIH Vaccine Research Center in 2014, she now focuses on assessing and improving the immunogenicity of novel vaccine platforms for coronaviruses and influenza. In addition to research, Dr. Corbett invests much of her time bringing STEM awareness to youth in local underserved communities through mentorship and volunteering. Combining her scientific interests with her knack for mentoring, she hopes to one day become an independent principal investigator.
Dr. Rhiju Das
Biography
Dr. Das is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine. After training in particle physics and cosmology at Harvard, Cambridge, University College London, and Stanford, Dr. Das did postdoctoral research in computational protein folding at the University of Washington. He has set up his lab to focus on computer modeling and design of RNA molecules, which underlie some of the most important molecular machines in biology and medicine.
Materials to Review
These videos were made before the COVID-19 vaccines were made available to the general public. They're still relevant to understanding how the mRNA vaccines work.
1. Watch this interview with Dr. Corbett up to time 12:44. It ends with "so I expect that medicine in general will be transformed." Note the discussion about protein spikes and mRNA as they relate to this chapter.
2. Watch this brief video with Dr. Das explaining how mRNA vaccines work and why they can be developed so quickly.
What to submit
Initial Post
You will submit a post of at least 250 words, addressing the questions below. Please break it into paragraphs; that's easier on the eyes.
- What was most interesting or most confusing about Dr. Corbett and Dr. Das and their work?
- What can you learn about RNA and translation from the videos?
- What do these materials tell you about the types of people that do science?
- What new questions do you have after reviewing these materials?
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
1
Scientists Spotlight
Student Name:
Institution Affiliation:
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Instructor:
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2
Scientists Spotlight
The most interesting thing about Dr. Corbett and Dr. Das is their love of science and
their work. Dr. Corbett shows interest in her work as she even creates STEM awareness to the
youths through her mentoring and volunteering. There is also teamwork in her work, which
makes it interesting. According to Dr. Corbett, t...
