The UW is often touted as one of the best public research schools in the world. But what happens when a global pandemic threatens to get in the way of that?

With the school currently in limbo as it nears the possible end of a foray into online-only classes, it’s unclear what the next few weeks and months hold for the university, leaving researchers, who have continued with business as usual, in the dark about the effects COVID-19 could have on their work.

Campus is currently scheduled to reopen for spring quarter March 30, a decision that, pending further health guidance, is subject to change. President Ana Mari Cauce said in an email to the campus community Wednesday, March 11 that a decision on the format of spring quarter classes would be made by March 20.

Researchers across campus are developing contingency plans as to how their labs can continue their work remotely if campus does not reconvene as planned. Some are thinking about it less than others.

Bing Brunton, an associate professor in the biology department, leads a lab that does primarily computational work, so she’s less worried about the effect an online-first campus could have on her studies. Most of the work is done on computers and lab staff can continue to work remotely.

“As long as there’s a robust internet connection, research will continue,” Brunton said in an email.

Remote research becomes more difficult for laboratory sciences whose work is largely hands-on, requiring either lab equipment or research subjects. This mirrors classes in STEM and performing arts fields that might find it harder to simulate assignments in which participation is vital.

Ph.D. student Erin Riesland does research with an after school program and she thinks it will likely be on hold this spring.

As much as possible, however, researchers are trying to go remote. Matt Bush, an associate professor in the chemistry department, is encouraging all lab members to work remotely to perform any task that can be done online. He is also preemptively stocking up on “lab consumables” to ensure the lab stays afloat even under different circumstances.

Labs can be breeding grounds for the virus as half a dozen or more people work in close proximity and touch a lot of the same equipment that’s hard to properly sanitize. This makes it difficult to maintain the six-foot distance health officials recommend to blunt the spread of COVID-19.

While “we don’t yet know what the long-term impact is going to be or how that might affect research projects,” according to UW spokesperson Victor Balta, the university has published guidance on how to mitigate the impact. Recommendations include prioritizing work that can only be carried out in the research facility and ensuring remote access to data.

The UW currently has no plans to restrict access to facilities, but it urges researchers to develop a plan in the event full access is not possible, which includes suggestions to identify emergency personnel within the team to support research animals, for example.

Samira Moorjani, a research assistant professor, is facing this problem. Her lab works with animal subjects — rats and monkeys — on long-term projects. The experiments involving the rats can take up to five months and stopping the research midway through could set them back.

“We have several rats in the pipeline that are at different stages of the experiment, and there is a lot of personnel time and resources invested in each rat,” Moorjani said in an email. “So it will be really unfortunate if they are unable to complete the experiment due to university closure.”

She added that her lab is refraining from starting any new long-term animal experiments for now, potentially setting back progress.

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Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, UW researchers have been on the front lines of ensuring the public understands the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Keith Jerome, who leads the virology division of the UW School of Medicine’s department of laboratory medicine, recently told The Daily that research on the virus, which would usually take days or weeks, is taking just hours because people are working around the clock.

Kristi Straus, an environmental studies lecturer with two kids, said, however, vital work like this could be set back because of child care concerns as Gov. Jay Inslee announced local schools would be closed until April 24. Travel restrictions could also hamper researchers that have to go back to the same sites every year for a long period of time.

“It’s hard to even talk about all the implications this could have,” Straus said.

Reach Science Editor Ash Shah and News Editor Jake Goldstein-Street at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @itsashshah @GoldsteinStreet

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