Starting Friday, March 20th, all USC research will be paused aside from essential laboratory tasks. To adhere to social distancing guidelines, only select individuals from each research group are allowed to maintain lab spaces during this COVID-19 emergency.
Because of these new restrictions, my labmates and I have been ending ongoing experiments and preparing to work from home. Fortunately, I have completed all of my benchwork and wet lab experiments; however, for many PhD students who rely on animal studies or cell culture, this will be a huge setback in their projects.
These guidelines follow campus-wide announcements that confirm all classes will be going online for the remainder of the semester and cancel/postpone university-sponsored events. Many are expecting commencement and graduation to be delayed as well.
During this time, we will all be practicing personal distancing while remaining productive in our work. Although campus has all but fully shut down, it is important to remember how our research continues to impact others! More updates to come as this situation develops.
Published on March 18th, 2020
Last updated on March 18th, 2020