Focus / Pandemic
20
Henrik Zetterberg, Professor at the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology:
Barbara Czarniawska, Senior Researcher at the Gothenburg Research Institute:
Deliang Chen, Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences:
– To me it was always very interesting, because I have experienced two diametrically opposed realities. Here, at our labs at Sahlgrenska and in Mölndal, where we are working on biomarker measurements for neurological conditions, we are looking at questions concerning how Covid-19 affects the brain. And we have seen clear indications that the viral infection may cause brain injury in certain patients. Naturally, this is very interesting, and it might not have been possible to study it if we had not been up to speed with the laboratory operations here in Gothenburg. – However, at the University College London, where I also have a lab and a research team, everything is at a standstill. The lab was closed in March and the twelve team members, like everyone else, have been at home, in lock-down. Obviously, that is not healthy. One of our post-docs from Bulgaria was feeling really despondent. Fortunately, she found a flight home to Sofia, was quarantined there and became very good friends with the quarantine officers who visited her every day for two weeks, whereupon she was able to be a little closer to her family and friends. – Of course, I am not able to go to London, and we have tried to keep everybody as active as possible. The team members have been able to attend online training and we have had Zoom meetings and after-work get-togethers on Fridays. Hopefully, we will be able to gradually open the lab in a few weeks, but I am concerned, of course. – Many of the world’s universities, like UCL, have closed down, which I think is a somewhat tepid response to the viral threat. I am proud that we are able to continue working at the University of Gothenburg, with restrictions in place of course, and thus contribute to the fight against corona and other important challenges in our society.
– The pandemic has led to a new research project. Myself and two colleagues have asked people who work on the coronavirus to send us their stories. When the pandemic is over, we will be analysing and writing. – In other ways, the pandemic has not had any major impact on my work. I am 80 percent retired and lately, I mostly carry out my research by reading and analysing books, films and the media, and you can do all that at home. Regarding meetings and collaborations, I have to say that I appreciate Zoom. The other day for example, I was listening to a seminar from Tel Aviv with a researcher from Yale. He was able to hold a presentation in a way that was just not possible before. As for myself, I held a PowerPoint presentation online instead of speaking at a conference in Warsaw as was scheduled. But I did not like it. You do not really go to conferences to learn something new, but to meet colleagues. And I enjoy being on stage, speaking.
– In general, it has been fairly positive for me. We do travel a lot within the world of research, perhaps a little too much, I find. We travel long distances, which takes time, and it takes time to recuperate afterwards as well. Now, we are meeting online instead. There are still some inequalities around the world in terms of broadband access but on the whole, online meetings are more accessible to everyone. You reach more people: both the ones you usually meet and those who would not otherwise attend our international meetings. I am also seeing a lot of data sharing, and the documentation is more structured and is put together more quickly now. – But there are of course also negative aspects to meeting online. It frequently takes longer to plan and you miss the informal chats in the corridor or in the canteen over a cup of coffee. Many online meetings increase the risk of spending too much time in front of your computer, and meetings clash with one another. – My own research very much involves running models and analysing data. It is sufficient to have access to the Internet to be able to continue working as normal. One advantage about working from home is that I can manage my time differently. Research time is more continuous and that enables me to save time. I find that the effects of the crisis on my research have generally been positive for me. We have a tremendous capacity to adapt and during the pandemic, we have learnt that there are other effective ways of working.
GUJOURNAL SUMMER 2020
