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NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

Graham Receives 2021 Sabin Gold Medal

Dr. Barney S. Graham

Dr. Barney S. Graham

The Sabin Vaccine Institute has awarded its annual Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal to Dr. Barney S. Graham, Vaccine Research Center deputy director. 

“It is a great honor to be associated with Dr. Sabin and a privilege to be on the list of all the previous recipients,” said Graham. “I am very grateful to all those who have helped me on my journey and to my early mentors for their generosity and inspiration.”

The Gold Medal, now in its 28th year, is Sabin’s highest scientific honor, given each year to a distinguished member of the global health community who has made extraordinary contributions to vaccinology or a complementary field. Past award recipients include leaders of vaccinology and vaccine advocacy such as Drs. D.A. Henderson, William Foege and Carol Baker.

Graham, an immunologist, virologist and clinical trials physician, is a pioneer in the field of structure-based vaccine design and a thought leader on pandemic preparedness. When the SARS-CoV-2 sequence was first published, his lab identified the relevant stabilizing mutations within hours and sent sequences to a commercial partner for manufacturing within days—these contributions were key to the development of Covid-19 vaccines.

Graham has led the development and testing of new vaccines for many global pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Ebola, West Nile, chikungunya, Zika, SARS and MERS.

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