Diversity Needed in Federal Pandemic Response
May 8, 2020
The head of a US government team working to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 is an African American viral immunologist named Kizzmekia Corbett, who has gained attention for her research and for seeking greater diversity in the federal coronavirus task force, given that the disease is disproportionately killing black people. In a sense, she is prepared for both roles, having graduated from a pioneering university program—described in Issues here and here—that focuses on educating underrepresented minority students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.