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Dr. Barney Graham, a 1979 graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, was named the 2021 Federal Employee of the Year last week by the Partnership for Public Service. UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine has received an award for his role in research that led to the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Barney Graham, who graduated in 1979, was named the 2021 Federal Employee of the Year last week by the Partnership for Public Service, the university said in a news release. He is the former deputy director of the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center, and shares the award with Dr. Kizzmikia Corbett, another researcher.
In a statement announcing the award, Dr. Anthony Fauci commended the doctors saying their names “will be in the history books. All the (COVID-19) vaccines that are doing really well are totally dependent on their work.”
The doctors used research on another respiratory disease to find ways to address the coronavirus. Their work supplied “the crucial information for the vaccine” that led to doses being manufactured for clinical trials in humans two months later, according to KU. The research was used in the creation of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
Graham is a native of Kansas and graduate of Paola High School in Miami County. He was recently recognized by KU with an honorary degree earlier this year. On the Vine A weekly conversation between The Kansas City Star and the minority communities it serves, bringing you the news and cultural insights from across the Kansas City region and abroad, straight to your inbox every Thursday. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
“The work done by Dr. Graham and his colleagues at the NIH Vaccine Research Center are really responsible for the rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccines and in particular, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines,” Dr. Robert Simari, M.D., executive vice chancellor for KU Medical Center, said at the time, according to the news release.
“His career certainly points out the value of Jayhawk education but also the potential of federally funded research on our society.”
Read more at: www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article255525381.html#storylink=cpy
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