The virus threatens

The virus threatens research

A scientific vagabond, that is how Henrik Zetterberg, Professor in Neurochemistry, describes himself. “Over the past few years I travelled once or twice a week, but now all travel has been cancelled. But that is a problem that can be solved. What is worse is when research itself stops.”

FOR A COUPLE of weeks, Henrik Zetterberg’s diary was fairly empty. “It started with a cancelled meeting in London that should have been held at the end of March. Then it just continued.”

It was an unusual feeling, he remarks.

“But now everybody has realised that we need to try to endure the onslaught of this virus, without cancelling all projects, at least not entirely, and not without a longterm plan for how to get everything up and running again when we have come through it. Instead of cancelling meetings, his diary is now full of online meetings. ”

Henrik Zetterberg’s London laboratory is completely closed.

“But we hold Monday meetings via Zoom and the week ends with a virtual after-work session at 16.00. I believe this is crucial for maintaining social contact and for countering anxiety and depression. Not being allowed to go out when you live in a city can make you feel very lonely, particularly if you are young and have no family close by, which is the case for many of our postdocs. However, holding effective online meetings is an art form. When you only see one another on screen, discipline is required to make sure you stay engaged, but as long as you are able to do that, digital meetings can be very effective.”

Meeting colleagues from all over the world is important, which is something that doctoral students learn early in their training, says Henrik Zetterberg.

“THERE IS A FEAR, I think, of falling behind and missing something material if you do not attend conferences. And of course, meeting in person is important. That is how you get the opportunity to discuss matters that may not be possible to fit into an article, such as unsuccessful trials or a conclusion that turned out to be incorrect. The most important conversations often take place at night, over dinner or a pint of beer, relaxing after the presentations of the day. ”

But conferences do take up a lot of your time, declares Henrik Zetterberg .

“Now, when I have to stay at home, I notice that I am getting a lot of other things done. Naturally, there is a whole industry around meetings and conferences, which provide work for a lot of people, but perhaps we have let it grow out of proportion. The coronavirus is terrible and is causing a lot suffering. But perhaps we might learn something as well, such as that we can have meetings at home and come together there, and that digital meetings can be a good alternative. It is not about stopping attending major international conferences or participating in collaborations, but about being more selective and only going to the really important ones.”

But the pandemic may lead to more serious problems for research, Henrik Zetterberg points out.

“RESEARCH IS dependent on technical devices, chemicals and a lot of ancillary resources, and trial subjects must be able to attend their examinations. If we run out of reagents, if the biotech companies that maintain our instruments go bankrupt or if there are no service engineers available, the risk of important research being held up in the long term is magnified. That is a real threat that is not being discussed very much.”

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg