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5 <br /> 1 b. Proclamation Honoring Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett <br /> 2 The Board considered voting to approve a proclamation honoring Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett <br /> 3 for her role in the development of a vaccine to address the COVID-19 pandemic and authorize <br /> 4 the Chair to sign. <br /> 5 Chair Price introduced the item, and read the resolution: <br /> 6 <br /> 7 BACKGROUND: Kizzmekia S. Corbett, PhD, is currently a research fellow in the Viral <br /> 8 Pathogenesis Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health [NIH], National Institute of Allergy <br /> 9 and Infectious Diseases [NIAID], Vaccine Research Center. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 Dr. Corbett grew up in the Cedar Grove community of Orange County, North Carolina, and <br /> 12 attended Orange County Schools during which time she spent two summers in the Project <br /> 13 SEED Summer Intern program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <br /> 14 <br /> 15 After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, with a secondary major in <br /> 16 Sociology, in 2008 from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Dr. Corbett earned her <br /> 17 Doctorate of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at <br /> 18 Chapel Hill in 2014. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Dr. Corbett was subsequently appointed to the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory in 2014, and has <br /> 21 focused her work on developing novel coronavirus vaccines, including mRNA-1273, which has <br /> 22 become a primary vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19. <br /> 23 <br /> 24 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Corbett and her team designed the vaccine <br /> 25 concept incorporated in mRNA-1273 from viral sequence and rapidly deployed to Moderna, Inc., <br /> 26 for FDA approved Phase 1 clinical trial, which began only 66 days from the viral sequence <br /> 27 release, and was shown to be 94.1% effective in Phase 3 trial and received Emergency Use <br /> 28 Authorization from the FDA. <br /> 29 <br /> 30 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PROCLAMATION <br /> 31 HONORING DR. KIZZMEKIA S. CORBETT <br /> 32 <br /> 33 WHEREAS, Kizzmekia S. Corbett, PhD, is currently a research fellow in the Viral Pathogenesis <br /> 34 Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health [NIH], National Institute of Allergy and Infectious <br /> 35 Diseases [NIAID], Vaccine Research Center; and <br /> 36 <br /> 37 WHEREAS, Kizzmekia Corbett, raised in the Cedar Grove community of Orange County, North <br /> 38 Carolina, attended Orange County Schools during which time she spent two summers in the <br /> 39 Project SEED Summer Intern program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, thus <br /> 40 becoming a testament to her innate abilities and to the value of investing in the education of <br /> 41 youth; and <br /> 42 <br /> 43 WHEREAS, Dr. Corbett received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, with a <br /> 44 secondary major in Sociology, in 2008 from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where <br /> 45 she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and an NIH undergraduate scholar; and <br /> 46 <br /> 47 WHEREAS, Dr. Corbett earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology at <br /> 48 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014; and <br /> 49 <br /> 50 WHEREAS, a viral immunologist by training, Dr. Corbett was appointed to the Viral <br /> 51 Pathogenesis Laboratory in 2014, and has focused her work on developing novel coronavirus <br />