Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Hillsborough native who helped develop Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, has been named one of Time magazine's Heroes of the Year.

Corbett and three others, Barney Graham, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, were referred to as "miracle workers" in a Time article detailing their work on developing mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

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Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a viral immunologist at the National Institutes of Health, in Wheaton, Md., Sept. 25, 2020. Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, marks the beginning of Black in Microbiology Week, the latest in a series of virtual events highlighting Black scientists in a variety of disciplines. (Timothy Nwachukwu/The New York Times)

"For those of us lucky enough to live in wealthy countries with access to these top-shelf vaccines, it has made all the difference," the article reads. "The miracle workers behind the COVID-19 vaccines are the TIME Heroes of the Year not only because they gave the world a defense against a pathogen, but also because the manner of that astonishing achievement guards more than our health: they channeled their ambitions to the common good, talked to one another and trusted in facts."

Corbett was born in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology. She is the National Institute of Health's lead scientist for coronavirus vaccine research.

Last month, she received the North Carolina Award, the state's highest honor, alongside UNC professor and researcher Dr. Ralph Baric.

Time magazine on Monday also named CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk as Person of the Year.