Temporarily putting aside their ongoing research, scientists are addressing the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and seeking solutions.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Black communities around the United States quickly and furiously. While all of the country has felt the devastation of this virus, communities with limited access to healthcare have been hit hardest.
As Black physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers have been on the front lines with the sick, Black research scientists have been trying to gather and analyze information that will abate the further spread of the virus.
“African American scientists are poised to offer unique perspectives,” says Adrianne D. Gladden-Young, a senior research associate for the infectious disease and microbiome program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. “We can shine spotlights on the blind spots that exist in science, which continue to exclude the most vulnerable groups from important research.
“The research community should listen to [the] voice of the community and trust the community knows what it needs,” she adds. “Our job as a research community would be to use our tools and expertise to address these needs that have been communicated by communities of color.”
Dr. Christopher O. Barnes — vaccine development
A Hanna H. Gray Postdoctoral Fellow affiliated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Dr. Christopher O. Barnes conducts research in the fields of biochemistry and biophysics. Working in the lab of Dr. Pamela Bjorkman at Caltech, Barnes has been investigating the structural correlates of antibody-mediated neutralization of HIV-1, but is currently focusing on SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
