Pandemic 'superhero': Moderna vaccine developer speaks at Chapman

Kizzmekia Corbett shared her experience assisting in the Moderna vaccine’s development at an April 28 virtual “Fireside Chat.” WikiCommons

Kizzmekia Corbett is who she is. She likes stiletto nails. She has self-described big hair. She leans to one side when she’s engaged in a conversation. 

So when she began working as one of the lead developers of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the inception of the pandemic, Corbett promised herself that through it all she wouldn’t change who she was. 

“Imagine having to do all of what is on my plate and pretending to be a completely different person,” Corbett said. “It helps the load if you can just be who you are while doing the thing that you have to do.”

Chapman’s Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI) hosted an April 28 virtual “Fireside Chat” open to the community with Corbett, who one attendee labeled a pandemic “superhero.” Corbett’s resume boasts work as a research fellow, the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines and Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and more recently, tackling the Moderna vaccine. 

The event is an iteration of a GCI Speaker Series launched by Gregory Goldsmith, the director of GCI and an assistant professor of biology. In bringing Corbett to Chapman, Goldsmith told The Panther he hoped to prepare students for combating unanticipated difficulties — or rather, “grand challenges” — when working in a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) field. 

“I wanted Dr. Corbett to talk about her experience working toward a solution in this case,” Goldsmith said. “What challenges did she face professionally and personally, and what did she learn from those that could prepare our students to solve grand challenges in the future?”

At the event, Corbett fulfilled Goldsmith’s wishes in reflecting on how her life has changed drastically over the last year, noting specifically that her role has expanded from the start of the pandemic to now amid current vaccine distribution. 

“We came into this as a really small, four-person team, and this operation has now expanded across the entire building,” Corbett said at the event. “I was leading a four-person team before, and now I oversee preclinical activities for a vaccine that is now in human beings’ arms.” 

As Corbett has transitioned into a newfound leading role during the pandemic, the priorities of she and her team have had to evolve as well. They’re focused not only on the vaccine itself, but also a variety of experiments that help inform next steps for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“When the CDC says, ‘Oh, now vaccinated people can take off masks,’ it’s because us and other people have put out data that says transmission of the virus through vaccinated people is very low,” Corbett said. “So, whatever is happening in the moment are the experiments that my team has to prioritize.”

As she discussed the current issues that affect those priorities Corbett acknowledged a question many of those who have received vaccines are wondering: whether another booster shot is needed to fully protect against the coronavirus. The development of booster shots is being studied in order to supplement any gaps in immunity that may arise from variants of the virus that the vaccine does not currently protect against. 

“The general consensus is that we'll probably want to boost people,” Corbett said. “But when that is — and how we’re planning to, what type of booster you will want to give — is really not anything that anyone knows right now.”

In considering these questions, Corbett challenged attendees to be mindful of whose advice they heed when thinking of their own bodies. She pointed out that listening to the Federal Drug Administration and CDC about this information is wise instead of CEOs of companies, due to Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla, releasing a statement about potential booster shots. 

In addition, Corbett commented on “alarms” going off at the present moment are due to the lack of global vaccine distribution. The Biden administration has said it will donate emergency medical equipment and vaccine development supplies to India as they battle a dangerous surge in cases of COVID-19. 

“We need to get the world on our level so that we can … stop the variants from entering this country and get to a place where there is some steady state level of confidence in herd immunity,” Corbett said.” 

Herd immunity is a phenomenon that occurs when the majority of a community becomes immune to a disease through natural infection and recovery or through the receiving of a vaccine that allows them to develop antibodies. Jerika Lam, a viral infection specialist at Chapman University, emphasized the need to immunize the country, noting how “precarious” the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 fight is. 

“This is the opportunity for the virus to mutate itself because it just needs a host,” Lam said. “If we don’t work together on this, it will constantly mutate and mutate and it will evade our immune system as well as the vaccine.”

Chapman President Daniele Struppa announced April 30 that the university will require students, faculty and staff returning to campus in the fall to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — or they must file a personal declination. However, this policy is contingent upon at least one vaccine receiving full regular approval from the FDA, rather than approval for emergency use. 

Ultimately, Lam supported Chapman’s vaccination policy and emphasized the importance of responsibly approaching this pandemic a day at a time. Like Lam, moving forward as a researcher, Corbett said she’ll continue to be as forthcoming as possible in regard to the vaccine — an honesty that also includes a genuine expression of her love for stiletto nails. 

“I also recognize how important it is to be completely transparent in this moment, because my person is attached to a vaccine that people have questions about,” Corbett said at the event. “So to be guarded or to be not transparent, or to show up as not myself, doesn’t help that at all. It doesn’t help to start to build those bridges for trust.”