For Immediate Release
September 21, 2022
Drs. Kizzmekia Corbett and Anthony Fauci to be jointly awarded the 2022 Fulbright Prize
Public health leaders to be honored for their success in combatting the COVID pandemic
Award ceremony to take place in Washington, DC on April 19, 2023
Washington, DC – The Fulbright Association will award the 2022 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding jointly to Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett and Dr. Anthony Fauci , whose leadership and scientific discoveries have been critical to the abatement of the COVID-19 pandemic, saving millions of lives worldwide and helping to restore a fuller and safer life for billions. Their success has allowed the peoples of the world to reconnect, and they have reminded us all that strong public health is critical to international exchange, cooperation, and travel.
“The Association is awarding the Prize to these Laureates for their respective contributions and accomplishments in public health globally, but we are also recognizing the importance of teamwork and collaboration to success,” says Association board chair, the Honorable Cynthia Baldwin. “That is why we are so happy to present this Prize jointly to Drs. Fauci and Corbett.”
“This Prize, by extension, honors all researchers, scientists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals who have contributed to the global fight against the coronavirus,” adds Association executive director, Dr. John Bader. “Fulbrighters worldwide are grateful to these heroes for their courage, sacrifice, hard work, and commitment to science.”
The award ceremony to take place in Washington, DC on April 19, 2023. For more information about the event, sponsorship, and Fulbright Prize, visit www.fulbright.org/prize.
About Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he oversees an extensive research portfolio focused on infectious and immune-mediated diseases. As the long-time chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, Dr. Fauci has made many seminal contributions in basic and clinical research and is one of the world’s most-cited biomedical scientists. He was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that has saved millions of lives throughout the developing world.
About Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
Dr. Corbett was a senior fellow and scientific lead at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center. A leading COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, was co-designed by Dr. Corbett’s NIH team from viral sequence and rapidly deployed to industry partner, Moderna, Inc., for Phase 1 clinical trial, which unprecedentedly began only 66 days from viral sequence release. mRNA-1273 is a now used around the world to prevent COVID-19 disease. Alongside mRNA-1273, Dr. Corbett boasts a patent portfolio which also includes universal coronavirus and influenza vaccine concepts and novel therapeutic antibodies. She is now an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
About the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding
The Fulbright Prize honors one of the world’s most prestigious international exchange programs, as well as the vision of its sponsor, the late Senator J. William Fulbright. Awarded by the Fulbright Association since 1993, the Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to promoting peace and a better life through greater understanding and cooperation among peoples, cultures, and nations. The Prize has a distinguished history of laureates, among them Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Bill Clinton, Vaclav Havel, Corazon Aquino, Mary Robinson, Doctors without Borders, Bill and Melinda Gates, Angela Merkel, and most recently Bono. More on the Prize, with a complete list of laureates, at fulbright.org/prize
About the Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program celebrated its 75th Anniversary last year, marking its creation in 1946 through Congressional legislation proposed by Senator J. William Fulbright. The Program embodies the visionary concept of promoting mutual understanding between countries through academic and bicultural exchange. The Program provides exchanges between the United States and more than 160 countries worldwide, funded by the U.S. Government with bipartisan support and contributions from 49 foreign countries whose permanent commissions execute the Fulbright Program on a binational level. Annually, about 8,000 grantees, American and foreign, participate in the Fulbright exchange as students, scholars, researchers, English and other language teachers, and professional specialists. Since its inception, the Program has sponsored over 400,000 grantees. Read more at eca.state.gov/fulbright
About the Fulbright Association
The Fulbright Association is the alumni organization of the Fulbright Program in the United States, representing over 140,000 American grantees. Founded in 1977, it is an independent non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, with 56 chapters in 39 states. Its mission is to continue and extend the Fulbright tradition of education, advocacy, and service through local, national, and international programs. Read more at fulbright.org
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