Life Sciences Seminar - Power of Diversity with Protective Immunity
The Power of Diversity: Protective Immunity Against MERS Coronavirus by Targeting Multiple Sites of VulnerabilityDr. Kizzmekia CorbettPostdoctoral Research FellowNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Vaccine Research CenterNational Institutes of HealthAbstract:MERS coronavirus (CoV) emerged in 2012 and continues to be transmitted in the Middle East. The MERS-CoV outbreak exemplifies the pandemic threat that CoVs pose to humans and justifies a need for a vaccine. CoV spikes (S) mediate cellular attachment, via the receptor binding domain (RBD), and are the primary target of protective antibodies (Abs). The research team used protein engineering to make a novel MERS S vaccine antigen and unveiled the importance of protective epitopes outside the RBD.Speaker Bio:Kizzmekia Corbett is a senior research fellow at the NIH Vaccine Research Center. Her scientific career began at University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC), where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and a NIH undergraduate scholar. She received a BS in Biological Sciences, with a secondary major in Sociology, in 2008. After one year of post-baccalaureate training at NIH, she enrolled at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), from where she obtained her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in 2014. Her dissertation research, “Dissecting Human Antibody Responses to Dengue Virus Infection”, garnered her several awards including a Doctoral Merit Award and induction into UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Honor Society. Notably, she also received a travel fellowship to complete part of her dissertation project in Sri Lanka. A viral immunologist by training, Kizzmekia’s research interests entail elucidating mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and host immunity as they pertain to vaccine development. Appointed to the NIH Vaccine Research Center (VRC) in 2014, she now focuses on assessing and improving the immunogenicity of novel vaccine platforms for coronaviruses and influenza. In addition to research, Kizzmekia serves as the VRC’s FEL-COM representative, a Keystone Symposia Fellow, and 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 aspires to become an independent principal investigator.Audience:No background knowledge necessary. All are welcome.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public