Cohen Susan E, Hashmi Sara M, Jones A-Andrew D, Lykourinou Vasiliki, Ondrechen Mary Jo, Sridhar Srinivas, van de Ven Anne L, Waters Lauren S, Beuning Penny J
Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Biophysicist (Rockv). 2021 Sep;2(2):28-32. doi: 10.35459/tbp.2021.000199. Epub 2021 Aug 9.
Demand for undergraduate research experiences typically outstrips the available laboratory positions, which could have been exacerbated during the remote work conditions imposed by the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic. This report presents a collection of examples of how undergraduates have been engaged in research under pandemic work restrictions. Examples include a range of projects related to fluid dynamics, cancer biology, nanomedicine, circadian clocks, metabolic disease, catalysis, and environmental remediation. Adaptations were made that included partnerships between remote and in-person research students and students taking on more data analysis and literature surveys, as well as data mining, computational, and informatics projects. In many cases, these projects engaged students who otherwise would have worked in traditional bench research, as some previously had. Several examples of beneficial experiences are reported, such as the additional time spent studying the literature, which gave students a heightened sense of project ownership, and more opportunities to integrate feedback into writing and research. Additionally, the more intentional and regular communication necessitated by remote work proved beneficial for all team members. Finally, online seminars and conferences have made participation possible for many more students, especially those at predominantly undergraduate institutions. Participants aim to adopt these beneficial practices in our research groups even after pandemic restrictions end.
对本科科研经历的需求通常超过了现有的实验室岗位数量，在严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2/新冠疫情期间实施的远程工作条件下，这种情况可能会更加恶化。本报告展示了一系列本科生在疫情工作限制下参与科研的实例。这些例子包括一系列与流体动力学、癌症生物学、纳米医学、生物钟、代谢疾病、催化作用和环境修复相关的项目。采取的调整措施包括远程和现场研究学生之间的合作，以及学生承担更多的数据分析和文献调查工作，还有数据挖掘、计算和信息学项目。在许多情况下，这些项目吸引了那些原本会从事传统实验台研究的学生，就像一些学生之前所做的那样。报告了一些有益经历的实例，比如花更多时间研读文献让学生对项目有了更强的主人翁意识，以及有更多机会将反馈融入写作和研究中。此外，远程工作所必需的更有针对性和规律性的沟通对所有团队成员都证明是有益的。最后，在线研讨会和会议让更多学生，尤其是那些主要为本科院校的学生能够参与其中。参与者们旨在即使在疫情限制结束后，仍在我们的研究团队中采用这些有益做法。
