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  • ISSCR COVID-19 Survey Results

ISSCR Survey: How the Stem Cell Community is Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis

Description and Rationale

The ISSCR conducted a survey to assess how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the stem cell community. The survey was meant to serve three main purposes:

  1. To provide our community with a mechanism to share how the COVID-19 crisis has affected their research, productivity, and careers, in both the short and long term, and to share strategies for navigating these new challenges;
  2. To collect data that can serve as a reference for scientists, institutions, agencies, and others when they are reporting on the scientific impact of this crisis;
  3. To enhance the ISSCR’s ability to refine programming, services, and support to the global stem cell and scientific community.

Survey Demographics:

  • The survey was open from 6-15 April, 2020;
  • There were 762 total survey responses;
  • We received responses from people in 52 different countries;
  • Respondents represent many careers and career stages, from undergraduate student to professor, industry scientist to executive, as well as clinicians, and government and non-profit employees;
  • See the PowerPoint presentation under “Download Survey Results” to see a full summary of the results.

Summary of Main Results:

  1. The stem cell community is anxious about the COVID-19 crisis.
    • Researchers are most concerned about the disruption to project timelines. Nearly 85% of respondents rated their concern at a 4/5 or 5/5 that research projects are being disrupted.
    • Many respondents worry about the impacts on current and future grant funding and future publications. Over 60% felt that COVID-19 delays will impact current and future grant funding and future publications.
  2. COVID-19 is having significant short-term impacts on stem cell research.
    • Laboratory access has been widely restricted. Over 70% of responders’ labs that were conducting experiments have shut down bench research.
    • Both basic and clinical research projects have been impacted. Over 80% of responders said research critical to their projects was interrupted and over 80% of responders involved in clinical trials reported that their trials have been affected by COVID-19.
    • Scientists are challenged to balance work and family responsibilities. Over 85% of respondents report increased time spent caring for children and/or family members, and nearly 50% of those report that their work has been disrupted from these added responsibilities.
    • Scientists are trying to accomplish what they can outside of the lab. Most researchers are spending their time outside of the laboratory preparing manuscripts (62%), analyzing data (60%), designing new experiments (48%), and preparing grant proposals (41%).
  3. The stem cell community is responding to the current COVID-19 health crisis.
    • Researchers are mobilizing to study SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 in the lab. Nearly a quarter of responders’ labs have pivoted to engage in COVID-19-related research by exploring:
      • Coronavirus infection and COVID-19 stem cell-based disease models to understand disease processes and potential treatments for:
        • Lung infection;
        • Cardiac damage;
        • Immune response;
        • Central nervous system infection and defects;
        • Taste/olfaction symptoms.
      • Virus detection assays;
      • Immunotherapies;
      • Vaccine development;
      • Involvement of adult stem cells in infection;
      • Cell therapies.
  4. The stem cell community perceives longer-term effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
    • It will take weeks to years for stem cell laboratory research to return to normal. Most responders (85%) said it would take from 1 week to 6 months to return their work to pre-COVID-19 status, while 10% anticipate this will take from six months to over two years.
    • Graduation timelines will be impacted. 40% of students responded that COVID-19 will affect their anticipated defense or graduation date.
    • Stem cell scientists are concerned about obtaining future grants and advancing in their careers. About 60% of respondents rated their level of concern about acquiring future funding and career advancement as a 4/5 or 5/5.

    Keep the Conversation Going

    We asked the community several questions such as "What are some strategies implemented by you or your lab that have been successful in coping with the unique challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic?" and "What would you like to ask others in the stem cell community right now? What would you like advice on?" Below, please find questions posed by those in the stem cell community. If you have responses send them to us at Covid19@isscr.org so we can share them with the community or tweet them with the hashtag #ISSCRCovid19.

    Hopefully by reading responses from the community, our researchers will not feel so alone, and that together they can offer each other helpful strategies to rebuild. The ISSCR will continue to support the community by facilitating a dialogue between researchers and helping the field become stronger and more united than before.

    Community Responses

    Expand all Collapse all

    What are some strategies implemented by you or your lab that have been successful in coping with the unique challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

    See Responses

    “Slack and Zoom have become our best allies in staying sane, connected, and productive. One major action is that we now meet as a team, via Zoom, every morning for a 20-40 minute "coffee break". We use these meetings to discuss any updates to our work, but primarily they are to check in to see how everyone is doing/coping. We talk about a mix of science and personal matters. It has been very helpful to keep everyone on the same page and maintain a schedule while working from home.”

    “More than ever, my lab and I have been thinking about how to integrate factors of diversity and health disparities to our modeling approach. Reductive stem cell models are further hampered when these issues are not addressed with human-based methods. This is perhaps a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for many scientists to spend greater time doing research on theory and ethics. Although I believe this should be done all the time in parallel to experiments, there is no better time to do these kinds of investigations.”

    “I created a calendar for the lab so that only one person is in lab at a time. We've also started a new lab meeting series with our international collaborators (something we were not previously doing). I've personally been focusing more on bioinformatics work instead of wet lab experiments.”

    “I mentor several dozen undergraduate students, so I am finding creative ways to keep them engaged and amused, and to make sure they know that their advisors care about them. I use polls to see how they are feeling and see what’s on their mind about the biological, social, political, and economic, etc. aspects of COVID-19. We also ask them to provide a 3-word response in the chat box about what they appreciated this week. It is usually about being with family, home cooking, and cooking/baking.”

    Beyond the lab

    “I increased my bird-watching and nature photography. I'm making a Pokémon style Pokédex to catalog common and rare birds in my neighborhood (i.e. bird bingo card). I'm also catching up on a mile-high stack of journal I've never had the time to read, but now I do! No more excuses not to read!”

    “It's important for me to go outside regularly for physical activity/exercise, at least once per day, this helps to refresh my mind so I can focus on my research-related work, and to de-stress as being bombarded with news about Covid19 is very anxiety inducing.”

    “I spent 4 hours making 1 PPE mask (about 2 hours was re-learning how to use a sewing machine). I'm finally activating the sourdough starter I got for Christmas. Teaching the dog to hold still for toenail trimming. Cutting my son's hair. Watching a lot of scientific webinars I had "flagged for follow-up" in the past year.”

    “I have a child - we draw a lot - it is oddly therapeutic.”

    Please note: Some quotes have been edited for clarity.

    Expand all Collapse all

    What would you like to ask others in the stem cell community right now? What would you like advice on?

    For Institutions/PIs:

    “How are you keeping your lab members motivated and supported? Do you have advice on how to recognize potential mental health issues developing in lab members, especially those who live alone?”

    “I would like to hear stories from other researchers about how they are doing, and how they are planning for the financial impacts on their lab and research that I feel will be inevitable.”

    “How will this affect the hiring agenda of your labs? Did you plan to hire someone this year and now decided not to?”

    “What measures are institutes/universities taking to ensure that the career progress of current graduate students is not negatively impacted by the pandemic? Are you providing graduate students with additional support, e.g. financial, extensions etc.?”
    For those working in the lab:

    “How are you dealing with general productivity concerns? My research primarily consists of wet lab work, so this is a major transition for me. I am having a hard time feeling productive in this sort of environment because it is hard to gauge when time is spent on more abstract forms of work, like reading/acquiring knowledge, as opposed to running a western blot.”

    “How are researchers with young children balancing work and childcare?”

    "What strategies have others used to cope with the unique challenges of stem cell related research? How have you ramped down their research activity and to what extent? How are you planning to ramp back up? How have you trimmed your mouse lines, and what is the plan for expanding them again? Are you keeping your stem cell cultures going? Are you if so, are you continuing to feed them daily, use fgf slow release tablets, or other stable fgf media?”

    “How many people are still getting the message from their leadership that they need to be maximally productive right now by writing grants, papers, etc? I still encounter this tone-deaf message every week, and all attempts to remind leadership that many of us (especially junior people) are home with small children have no effect. Are they not hearing it or do they really not care? I'd like advice on how to actually get this message through, consistently, so we can stop getting emails and attending zoom meetings where someone tells us this again. I've sent gentle messages to people I feel I know well and who I think would be receptive to the message. But it's so pervasive and I don't want to spend all my time trying to adjust the attitudes of senior leadership in every corner of science that I encounter. It wouldn't be good for my career, I'm sure, and it really should not have to be part of my job.”

    Professional Development:

    “How does one realign after such a drastic set back? Expectations from work is high, they expect you to publish, attract funds, but under such circumstances it is so hard to concentrate. Should one expect success in terms of career advancement in the coming years? Are there going to be cuts to funding because of a recession? Where and how do I position myself?”

    “How do I progress my career during the hiring freezing?”

    “How are other graduate students nearing the end of their contract performing their last experiments when most lab work is on hold?”

    “What can graduate students who are not close to defending or writing a manuscript be working on right now, besides reading?”

    General:

    “Am I the only one who's not the most productive? and who's the most scared?”

    “Any ideas for fun ways of interaction?”

    “How common is it to feel very stressed? How are other coping with stress and envisioning the future? Do you have suggestions for mental health resources?”

    “It's sometimes hard to remain productive at home, what are people doing to make that happen?

    How are people staying positive?”

    Conclusions

    This survey highlights the widespread effects of the global public health crisis on the stem cell community. This survey has revealed that stem cell researchers around the globe are concerned about productivity, publications, funding, and career progression, but also that the field is resilient. Labs are adjusting to the new circumstances and are working hard to hit the ground running to come out stronger than before on the other side of this crisis.

    COVID-19_Graphic_2

    Selected Quotes

    “We formulated COVID-19 related projects quickly and will be conducting experiments with my collaborators. We are also submitting a mini-review on COVID-19. Having these tasks has motivated us to be productive and feel better during this uncertain time.”
    “I hope future manuscript and grant reviewers will be sensitive to the situation. We also need to be sensitive to the impact on trainees. How the pandemic will affect trainee career trajectories is my primary concern.”
    “I shut down everything and just check essential devises three times per week on my own. I keep my students at home to protect their health.”
    “We may have to delay our first-in-human trial that we hoped to start early next year- we are challenged by arranging IND-enabling studies and also cannot recruit or assess patients.”
     “I'm concerned by the, potentially, toxic infusion of large, essentially non-peer reviewed funds into COVID research at the expense of desperately needed funds for existing projects. Labs that need funding are going broke (many countries are canceling grant competitions) and it is inevitable that some COVID-19 funding will be at the expense of other projects.”
    “Most of my time is spent with children as I have four and the youngest is one and a half. Everyone needs me, whether it is day or night, because I am home. I have very little time for research.”

    *Please note: Some quotes have been edited for clarity.

    Download Survey Results

    Find downloadable data file below with all personal information redacted.

    PowerPoinT — survey overview  

     

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