Alongside team members and a group at Moderna, Corbett and Graham targeted a spike protein on the Covid-19 virus for use in a vaccine and prepared the vaccine for clinical trials. The pair’s previous research on mRNA vaccination for coronaviruses allowed their team at the NIH to rapidly generate the model for a Covid-19 vaccine last year. At the NIH, Corbett studied the relationship between antibodies and various coronavirus spike proteins, as well as mechanisms for mRNA vaccine delivery. Graham, the former deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center at the NIH, began studying coronaviruses in 2014, around the same time Corbett joined his lab. The “Sammies” recognize federal employees who have achieved notable accomplishments in public service. Heyman Service to America Medals Celebration, which took place last Friday. Chan School of Public Health, has been named one of the 2021 Federal Employees of the Year by the Partnership for Public Service for her work in developing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine as a research fellow at the National Institute of Health.Ĭorbett received the title at this year’s Samuel J. Corbett, an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H.
