Editor viewpoints: Thoughts on the pandemic
In this highlights piece we cover extracts from our Editor Viewpoints series. In these extracts, editors from across our journals share their thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they expect the crisis to change the way we do research in the future.
Professor Ali Tavassoli
University of Southampton
Editorial board member, RSC Chemical Biology
How do you think the current pandemic could shape the research community in the short and long term?
In the short term, I think most of us will be trying to cope with the altered living and working conditions. I am hoping that in the long term, blue skies research will be better supported, and that we will be better prepared for other challenges that humanity will be facing, such as another pandemic, antibiotic resistance and climate change.
Dr Jennifer Love
University of British Columbia
Editor in Chief of ChemSocRev
How do you progress your research and balance your life during this difficult time? Are there any tips you would like to share with other researchers?
2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least. I was already planning to close my lab in April, as part of the move to the University of Calgary, where I began as Head of Chemistry in late 2019. Even before the shutdown due to COVID-19, our lab had been scaling back regular labwork in anticipation of the move. We were anticipating a disruption even without COVID. However, the hiatus from labwork is must longer than anticipated.
Dr Li-Zhu Wu
Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry
Associate Editor of Journal of Materials Chemistry A
How do you think the current pandemic could shape the research community in the short and long term?
In the short term research resources – and the general attention of the research community – will shift towards public health and global collaboration on related issues. International collaboration on vaccine development and mitigating the spread of the coronavirus will be encouraged.
Dr Rahul Banerjee
Indian Institute of 新月直播app下载 Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata
Associate Editor of Chemical 新月直播app下载
What’s the biggest challenge you face during the lockdown? How do you overcome it?
IISER-Kolkata laboratories closed (officially) on March 20th, 2020, as we were worried about the health of our students and postdocs. The biggest challenge I faced during the lockdown was to keep my students stress free as they were all worried about their future.
Dr Elsje Alessandra Quadrelli
CNRS and ESCPE Lyon
Associate Editor of Green Chemistry
What do you think should change in response to the current pandemic?
A positive lesson of the pandemic is that concerted actions are possible at an incredible global scale. We were half of the humanity under lock down at the same time. We can be similarly globally connected in the construction of a common future.
Professor Nicolle Packer
Macquarie University
Editorial Board member for Molecular Omics
What’s the biggest challenge you face during the lockdown? How do you overcome it?
Increased time on connecting with everyone – "zoomed out" is the term I am hearing now. So lack of social contact with real people. Conversations which are usually done for 5 minutes in the corridor take 1 hr on Zoom. My original thought that lockdown would allow me to get grants, papers and thinking done turns out to be a fantasy that could not fit in between Zooms and increased administration time.
Dr Pablo Denis
Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay
Associate Editor of RSC Advances
How do you progress your research and balance your life during this difficult time? Are there any tips you would like to share with other researchers?
It has been hard to work at home for those who have a family since we have to teach our children. This pandemic has strengthened the families.
Professor Manojit Pal
Dr Reddy’s Institute of Life 新月直播app下载s
Associate Editor of RSC Advances
How do you progress your research during this difficult time?
Being confined at home it has been extremely difficult to make any progress with research that was dependent on laboratory experiments. However, luckily my group had some results that were due for publication, and we have used the time effectively to prepare papers and reports. We have also studied the literature extensively and generated some useful and important new data through in silico molecular modelling, which does not require us to be physically present in the lab.
Dr Qin Wang
University of Maryland
Associate Editor of RSC Advances
How do you progress your work during this difficult time? Do you have any tips that could help other researchers?
The strategies I have used to continue working/researching at home during the lockdown include: 1) make and maintain an achievable schedule to complete teaching, research, and service tasks/commitments, 2) meet with graduate students in my research group weekly through video conference, talking about their research progress, questions, concerns, and thoughts, 3) respond timely to all service/minor errands.
Professor Feng Zhao
Institute of Urban Environment, CAS
Associate Editor of RSC Advances
What’s the biggest challenge you've faced during the lockdown? How have you overcome it?
The outbreak of COVID-19 has a significant impact on the human health and global economy. Meanwhile, my research is experiencing a range of challenges especially for long term experimental operation, we are also learning to communicate, teach, meet and collaborate on virtual platforms.
Press office
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 20 7440 3351
- Email:
- Send us an email