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Nita Patel
Nita K. Patel (born 1965) is an Indian-American vaccinologist who leads vaccine development at Novavax. She oversaw the development of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. Early life and educationPatel was born in Sojitra, a farming village in Gujarat. When she was four years old her father contracted tuberculosis, and came close to death.[1] This experience motivated Patel to become a physician and attempt to find a cure for tuberculosis.[2] She went on to earn a master's degree in microbiology at Sardar Patel University and a master's degree in biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University. Research and careerAfter graduating from Johns Hopkins, Patel moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland where she worked for MedImmune, a company that looked to create vaccinations for tuberculosis, respiratory syncytial virus and Lyme disease.[2] She was the sixteenth member of the MedImmune team.[3] Later the company eventually acquired by AstraZeneca.[3] In 2015, Patel left AstraZeneca to join Novavax, a biotechnology start-up in Maryland. Her research considers antibody discovery and vaccine development.[4] She oversaw the development of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, and led an all-woman team.[4][5][6][7] After Patel received the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in February 2020, she designed and characterized over twenty variants of the protein.[3] This involved identifying the locations where antibodies bind to the protein, and developing tests to check whether the spike is consistent between manufacturing plant.[3] The vaccines developed by Patel and Novavax make use of recombinant DNA.[8] In an interview with Science Magazine, Patel said that she had worked eighteen hour days to develop the vaccine, but didn't get tired.[9] They were awarded a $1.6 billion contract to run clinical trials.[10] In 2021, the vaccine was shown to be 89% effective in large trials in the United Kingdom.[11][12] Selected publications
Personal lifePatel is married to an American biochemist.[1] References
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