Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire

Two weeks ago, I had the honor of witnessing our beloved @vp get her 2nd dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine. Today, she has a 94% less chance of getting COVID as her antibodies robustly hit their peak. Needless to say, next time we meet, we may be able to embrace each other safely... Although, elbow bumps sprinkled with #blackgirlmagic are equally as powerful. 🤗 👯‍♀️💛🖤 Photo x White House photographer x 01.26.21 #blackhistorymonth

Vaccine scientists are TIME's 2021 Heroes of the Year. The vaccines that first arrested the spread of COVID-19—and that will almost surely be adjusted to thwart the Omicron variant and future mutations—were never a foregone conclusion. Far from it. They were, after all, produced by human beings, subject to the vagaries of systems and doubt, write Alice Park and Jamie Ducharme. There were times in their careers when, deep in the work that would ultimately rescue humanity, Kizzmekia Corbett, Barney Graham, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman felt as though the problems they faced were ones they alone cared about solving. But exposing the inner workings of how viruses survive and thrive is what made the COVID-19 vaccines possible. Corbett, Graham, Kariko and Weissman achieved a breakthrough of singular importance, introducing an innovative and highly effective vaccine platform, based on mRNA, that will impact our health and well-being far beyond this pandemic. Read more about TIME’s 2021 Heroes of the Year at the link in bio. Photographs by @mattiabalsamini for TIME Repost from @time 💁🏿‍♀️💄: @bostonbeautybar

The guy in the back was running outside to tell me that the steps were private property and I needed to take my picture from the sidewalk. *poses & snaps photo anyway* Today, people will get vaccinated with a vaccine that I woke up on Jan. 11th to frantically help design. I remember the day, in February, when mRNA-1273 arrived to our lab at NIAID Vaccine Research Center, and mice awaited in the basement for their injections. At the time, we just had our sights on a phase 1 clinical trial by 100 days, with no idea the virus would spread into a pandemic. 66 days passed from the viral sequence release, and the first human was injected with the vaccine in a phase 1 trial. 9 months later, today, after 76,000,000 COVID cases globally... people in the US will receive the vaccine under emergency use authorization. Lives are about to be saved. Hospitals will become less overwhelmed. Normal times will slowly begin again. And, I might rent out these steps and throw a party. @jeezy on the entertainment. *cues “Put on”*

Back at @umbclife today… the place that taught me that brilliance and belonging can exist in the same room. A place that let a young Black girl from North Carolina say out loud that she wanted to win a Nobel Prize someday… and instead of laughing, helped her believe it was possible. So much of who I became was shaped here — by mentorship, by community, by the expectation of excellence, and by being surrounded by people who dared to dream audaciously. And now, getting to pour back into the next generation of Meyerhoff students and Kizzmekia Corbett scholars feels deeply full circle. Also… somebody told me I was flyy today, so here we are with my first post in ages 💁🏾‍♀️✨ Lesson of the speech: “Go where you are loved.” 💛 🖤 This week in Baltimore has filled my spirit. Glad to be back at my second “home”.

To be named one of ten of the world’s leading innovators, thinkers, and conversation shifters… I’m a TED FELLOW, ya’ll. Honored. Thrilled. Ready.

Merry Christmas!!! 💖 This is my little nuclear family’s first Christmas without traveling to GA or NC, because we welcome Baby Girl “any day now”. Before yesterday, I was feeling rather blahhhh about missing out on our typical traditions: game nights at my parents’, pj parties at Grandma Shirley’s, gumbo and potato salad with my in-laws. But, I changed my lens (s/o to therapy) and basked in the joy of starting traditions of our own. My husband and I curated a menu that we hope stands the test of time, featuring the only meat other than chicken nuggets Kimathi will eat - Duck. I just watched our anchor, my man, put together 1752728 toys until 4am… and, now I’m awake giddy with anticipation of a day full of intention, love, gratitude, and new traditions with the family of my dreams. Thank God and Happy Birthday Jesus Christ!!! 📷 x @iconlovestories 💁🏿‍♀️x @arisymonee & @symonehairlounge_ 💄x @_makeuploverxo 🤰🏿x my man + a random night out with @bostonwhileblack

Hey ya’ll!!! I’ve missed this app and our weekly “Ask Kizzy” sessions. But, I promise I’ll be back in a HUGE way soon 😉! Anyway, here are a few life updates: I’m pregnant. 🤰🏿 Love is in the Helaire. 💛 My science is funded and flourishing. 🧪 And… VACCINES SAVE LIVES. 💉 Since my baby bump 💖 now has your attention… here’s a public service announcement… It’s the first day of Fall. We are entering another “flu season”, and the @cdcgov is predicting a similar combined number of peak hospitalizations from COVID-19, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus this upcoming respiratory virus season compared to last year’s. The agency is predicting higher peak weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rates this season as well. GO GET YOUR VACCINES!!! My appointment is next Monday. Book yours right now, before your work week starts. While you’re at it, book one for your parents and grandparents too! Love & Light. 📸 x @aquadrophotography 💄x @barharborbeauty 💇🏿‍♀️ x @hairby_terryel 💅🏿 x @beauty101boston /news/headline/2025-09-03-cdc-releases-2025-26-respiratory-disease-season-outlook

On this “Giving Tuesday”, allow me introduce you to Ngozika “Ngozi”  Emezienna, the first Kizzmekia S. Corbett Endowed Scholar at my alma mater @umbclife !!! When I started this endowment, my dream was to help talented STEM students in the Meyerhoff scholarship program realize their dreams of merging basic science with public service. Ngozi is THAT GIRL —  a third year @umbclife biological sciences and public health major, who, like myself, is interested in using science to alleviate health disparities. She has worked at National Cancer Institute and Columbia University researching the well-being of at-risks groups with cancer. She has collaborated with local organizations and government to bring “tangible change” to the community. BTW, “tangible change” are her own words so you already know she truly is about service. Thank you Ngozi for your brilliance and motivation to use your science towards community health. I’m humbled and overjoyed to call you a Kizzmekia S. Corbett Scholar!   Now… *clears throat* 📣 To help make more scholarships possible for students like this, donate to the Kizzmekia S. Corbett Endowed Scholarship… 🔗 in bio Shoutout to a few of my friends who donate regularly: @jroge4 , @_jeana_marie__ , and @god_son06 . Your support is appreciated!!!

This post is dedicated to my beloved nephew, Kaiden. This picture is Kaiden about 9 years ago. At that time, I was a researcher at @nihgov in Bethesda, MD. One weekend, I visited family back home in NC. Kaiden was visibly sick and frail. I laid beside him for auntie cuddles and immediately heard the depth of his wheezing lungs. I knew immediately that he likely had RSV. An emergency room visit proved I was right. He was tested, monitored, and sent home with a breathing machine. My nephew happens to be one of the lucky children to fare so well. That year, he was one of nearly 2.1 million outpatient (non-hospitalization) visits among children younger than 5 years old. For upwards of 80,000 children a year, hospitalization is the result of their RSV infection. While we are talking numbers: >100,000 hospitalizations among adults 60 years and older occur each year. RSV is not just any ol’ “common cold”. It is serious and potentially deadly. Inform yourself and friends and family by listening to a recent podcast I was on about RSV – you can find it at the 🔗 in my bio. I’ll be breaking down what I said in the podcast here in a 12-part series. ➡️Follow me, check out my Reels for the first clip from the show, and set your alerts for more tips on how to best protect you and yours against RSV this and every respiratory virus season.  Source: @cdcgov

POV: You are a recipient of a $1.15 million dollar grant from the @chanzuckerberginitiative that funds outstanding early- to mid-career biomedical researchers. Apply to the CZI Science Leadership Diversity Award!!! Letters of intent are due for Cohort #2 on December 3, 2024. 🔗 in bio. I’m honored to be an inaugural CZI SDL awardee. This was my first ever grant, and it spearheaded my lab’s growth and research on common cold viruses. Also, the funding is usable for community outreach allowing me to bring you vaccine education in real time via social and conventional media. Thank you, @priscillachan and @zuck , for creating such a unique and amazing program!

@yalesph @yaleschoolofmed recently hosted me for two days of guest lectures! I had so much fun, I decided to bring you all on the journey with me. Thank you again @marioph96 for hosting me with hospitality, organization, professionalism, and just an overall kickass time! To those thinking about academia as a career path, invited guest lectures at other universities will be a normal occurrence for you! I particularly love visiting other campuses, talking about my latest and greatest science, and meeting with trainees! This academic year, I vow to bring my IG fam along with me as I tour the world in the name of science!

Happy 10 year anniversary to my PhD!!! 👩🏿‍🔬 … (& to this face beat by @tiwalawrence 💁🏿‍♀️) 10 years ago today, I defended my PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at @uncschoolofmedicine , as a first-generation 4-year college graduate from rural North Carolina. Today, I’m living in my dream - typing this from my corner office at the #3 Public Health school in the world. (@harvardchansph ) (Immunology and Infectious Diseases, my specialties, are ranked #1 and #3, respectively, so let’s just count that lol) I have: - 48 peer-reviewed publications - a vast patent portfolio including FDA-approved vaccines and antibodies - and a lab of 9 compassionate and motivated scientists running on $1M+ annual budget To God be the Glory!!! I’m really doing that; rarely do high achievers, like myself, bask in the glory of success, but today, I’m popping my shhhhh!!! And, as always, shoutout to my family and friends who packed that auditorium on 10/3/2014. None of what I do would be possible without being held up by my folks. 💯