By Sara Frueh

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing some entirely new challenges to U.S. research universities — the need to dramatically ramp up online education, for example, and to find ways to protect the health and safety of faculty, students, and staff.

But the crisis is also acting as a “magnifying lens” for challenges that have existed for years, said National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt, who opened a recent workshop that examined research universities in the context of COVID-19.

One example, she said, is the possibility that public skepticism about whether a university education is worth its rising cost will further increase if courses move entirely online. And young researchers who have long navigated narrowing career paths are now at a standstill: “With COVID, they see progress entirely halted in their professional trajectories, because they can’t even get into their labs.”

But even as the pandemic exacerbates some existing problems, it can prompt the research community to seek new solutions, said McNutt. “These are challenging circumstances, no doubt, but we also have an opportunity, not only to reimagine and strengthen our research universities but also to help our nation and [the] world be better positioned to respond to inevitable future crises.”

The toll taken by the pandemic

Mary Sue Coleman, president of the American Association of Universities, explained how the pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on universities, which had to quickly send students home, migrate to virtual instruction, cease non-COVID-related hospital operations, and make difficult decisions about which research to halt. Studies involving human subjects have been interrupted, and field work stopped.

“It has been a social and economic catastrophe, like for most sectors of the economy,” said Coleman. Based on data about 37 of AAU’s member institutions, the estimated financial losses for each institution range from $74 million to $153 million just for one semester, she said.

Coleman expressed worry about people in the research career pipeline, especially those at the beginning of their scientific careers, who may face cutbacks in fellowships and other opportunities. And international students — “a major source of talent for many, many years” — are facing new policies that have suspended H-1B visas and the issuance of green cards, she said.

Research ethics during a crisis

Christine Grady, chief of bioethics at the NIH Clinical Center, pointed to another challenge raised by the pandemic — maintaining ethics and standards under the intense pressure to find treatments and vaccines for the virus. As of July 20, she noted, there were 482 therapeutics and 156 vaccine candidates making their way through the research pipeline.

“The interesting challenge we have is between speed and rigor,” said Grady. “I think one of the lessons we learn trying to do research during epidemics or pandemics is that both are important … We have to evaluate the various trade-offs: What could we do a little faster without reducing rigor? What can we not sacrifice?”

The pandemic should prompt greater consideration of research ethics in the context of crises, said Susan Wolf of the University of Minnesota Law School and Medical School, during a later panel moderated by National Academy of Engineering President John Anderson. “One thing we’re learning is there’s normal-time ethics and research integrity, and there’s emergency and wartime ethics and research integrity,” said Wolf. The latter have been largely ignored, she continued, and they need more attention and discussion.

Navigating complexities in international collaboration

Maria Zuber, vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discussed international science and technology cooperation in an era of increasing tensions with China.

“The U.S. scientific and technological enterprise needs international cooperation, including with China, more than ever,” Zuber said. “We will never have all the talent, all the ideas, all the capacity to go it alone.”

She urged universities to take a nuanced, balanced, and targeted approach to managing concerns about security and intellectual property: “We can’t simply carry on business as usual, but nor should we turn inward or avoid speaking out against bad policies.” Universities should think deliberately about their processes and provide guidance to faculty, including about the imperative to disclose international funding, she said.

Zuber also stressed the importance of foreign students to U.S. universities and the STEM pipeline, noting that few foreign students have been involved in inappropriate behavior.

Finding new ways forward

“As we open research universities, we have a unique opportunity to shore up the strength of these institutions,” said National Academy of Medicine President Victor Dzau. Throughout the workshop, speakers offered ideas for how this could be done.

To broaden career options for early-career scientists, Frances Ligler of North Carolina State University proposed that schools and faculty set an example by creating a “revolving door” to encourage faculty to take leaves of absence to work temporarily in industry, government, and nonprofits.

“Not only will this enrich the experience of the faculty level, but it will have incredible impact on showing students that you can have a diverse and flexible career,” said Ligler. “You can do research in all kinds of environments, not just an academic research lab.”

Research labs themselves merit further consideration, said Mary Sue Coleman. “What should laboratory design look like in the future? Because this is not going to be the only pandemic we’re going to face.” She urged scientists and architects to collaborate to design laboratories that will better protect the people working in them.

Multiple speakers pointed to another long-standing challenge — the need to diversify the research enterprise. Claude Steele of Stanford University said that a key part of this effort is building trust: conveying to students that you believe in their ability, that you won’t see them in terms of stereotypes, and that you are there to support them.

Steele was asked whether online classes make trust-building and avoiding stereotypes more difficult. Giving students exercises and other ways to reveal who they really are, even through a video screen, can help, he replied. And even in a virtual environment, faculty can earn students’ trust by being responsive, returning e-mails, and demonstrating their desire to help. “I think there are, even under these remote circumstances, opportunities to build trust.”

Watch recordings of workshop sessions