How the Coronavirus Affects Research at Colleges Worldwide

How the Coronavirus Affects Research at Colleges Worldwide

The coronavirus crisis¹ may have halted classes at many colleges and universities when their campuses closed earlier this year. But that is not the only problem the virus has created for the higher education community worldwide.

In addition to study programs, there is other important work taking place at these schools: academic research. Even with some institutions now re-opening, their laboratories and the people who work in them may face restrictions² on research.

Suzanne Ortega is president of the Council of Graduate Schools, a not-for-profit group based in the United States. The council provides support to graduate school education and research projects.

Ortega told VOA that just like for everyone else, the sudden, unexpected spread of the coronavirus came as a shock to U.S. academic institutions. Luckily, many schools have been developing crisis communication and risk management plans for years. Some acted quickly, deciding not just to send students home and move classes online. They also decided³ which research projects to continue and which ones could be delayed.

"What happened at the institutional level really trickled⁴ down to the lab and the departmental level," said Ortega.

The government agencies responsible for financing⁵ most academic research in the U.S. also announced action. The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation extended time limits for when researchers need to show the results of their ongoing⁶ projects. The NIH and NSF, as the two agencies are known, also advised researchers on what to do in this situation.

Some academics even decided to take their animal subjects home to care for them while campus laboratories are closed.

Wendy Streitz argues there is no denying that the coronavirus crisis will create barriers for ongoing scientific exploration. She is president of the Council on Government Relations, a group representing 190 research-heavy colleges and universities in the United States.

Delays in research can affect study findings, especially when materials must be observed continuously or have limits on their use. And travel restrictions make it unclear when field researchers studying animals or conditions in nature, for example, will get back to work.

But as concerns about the effect of the coronavirus on the world economy turn into reality, there is also the financial question, Streitz says. The NIH and NSF are working to ensure that projects stay funded. But in Britain, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support expect to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in donations this year. The two groups are among the country's biggest private fundraisers for cancer research.

"The research isn't getting done while people are idle. And when people get back to work ... there's no guarantee that the government's going to be able to come up with the funds necessary to finish the research. So I think, in the long term, we are going to see research projects that can't finish," Streitz noted⁷.

Another concern is over what effect this might have on researchers, especially those now taking the first steps in their scientific careers, says Joanne Carney. She is the chief government relations officer at the American Association for the Advancement⁸ of Science.

Delays in research mean delays in meeting graduation requirements, she says. Also, delays of conferences and large meetings mean the new scientists will miss out on chances to meet others working in their fields.

Carney says this might limit the ability of these men and women to advance in their careers. So could decisions by many institutions to temporarily suspend efforts to fill open positions. In fact, Australia's chief scientist has warned that the country's universities may lose as many as 7,000 research positions within the next several months.

Travel restrictions have also limited the flow of international students, who represent many of the graduate student researchers in the U.S. and overseas.

Yet Carney suggests there may be some good news to come out of this. She says active university laboratories are sharing equipment and their findings like never before. And many researchers who were studying other diseases are now lending their knowledge to the fight against the coronavirus.

"This ... scientific knowledge that we are building every single day is going to continue to guide us and contribute to public health for decades to come," said Carney.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

campus(es) – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

graduate – adj. of or relating to a course of studies taken at a college or university after earning a bachelor's degree or other first degree

management – n. the act or process of controlling and dealing⁹ with something

trickle(d) down – p.v. to spread from the upper levels of a society or organization to the lower levels

fund(ed) – v. to provide money for something

idle – adj. not working, active, or being used

advance – v. to make progress

contribute – v. to give something, such as money, goods, or time, to help a person, group, cause, or organization

decade(s) – n. a period of 10 years

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 financing   

n.筹措资金

参考例句：

• The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
• They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。