Research leadership from across the University of Michigan will host a virtual town hall April 14 to answer questions and provide guidance on research operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The novel coronavirus has affected nearly every aspect of the U-M research enterprise, from grants administration and human subjects research to laboratory safety. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate in the town hall from 3:30-4:30 p.m. to determine how to best manage their on-campus and remote research and scholarship amid COVID-19.
Rebecca Cunningham, vice president for research, will moderate a panel that includes Steve Kunkel of the Medical School, Steve Ceccio of the College of Engineering, Lutgarde Raskin of the Rackham Graduate School and Chris Poulsen of LSA.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted how we engage in research and scholarship, including restrictions on human subjects research and a ramp-down of all noncritical laboratory research activities,” Cunningham said.
“These are indeed challenging times, and so our goal with this town hall is to support the U-M research community and answer their important questions about research operations during this pandemic.”
The town hall will be conducted via the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to submit questions prior to the event.
The Office of the Vice President for Research also developed a COVID-19 Research Portal, which includes FAQs about research operations, a research index with COVID-related projects, and a list of funding opportunities and resources specific to coronavirus research.
Beatriz Lopez Bermudez
Would it be possible to go back to work in research labs if we were to follow a systems that minimizes the amount of people per room? (eg working in shifts)