God and Nature Summer 2020
COVID-19: Pandemic and Research: Improvise and Adapt!
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By Brent M. Peterson
March 12, 2020, was a day that ignited a season in my life that I will always remember. That day our administration informed the university community that we were to leave campus and continue our work online. While many faculty colleagues were panicking and fearful, I was not. My background as a physiologist with a second master’s degree in public health prepared me well for the likely public health responses that may transpire.
I was disappointed, though, that all of my research projects would abruptly be cancelled. The projects I was working on were related to many different aspects of cancer, but I also had multiple projects where we were investigating the effects of exercise (or stress) on various biological markers of inflammation. The problem was that the work I do specifically requires humans as subjects. Therefore, when my lab closed down and I could no longer continue my research, I was left with a hole that increasingly filled with disappointment and discouragement as the days progressed.
Then, as God would have it, an incredible opportunity arose right at the perfect time! I was approached by a brilliant and highly respected colleague of mine who had the idea to begin working on a COVID-19 project together in which we would investigate interpersonal viral transmission. Weeks later we published our first paper, “Does COVID-19 Spread Through Droplets Alone?,” in Frontiers of Public Health and provided some explanations and potential mechanisms for how the spread of COVID-19 has transpired (1). Essentially, we posited that public health recommendations should further review current standards to take into account some of the recent events that demonstrated mechanistic function indicative of aerosol activity. Shortly thereafter, we started working on a meta-analysis entitled “Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Sex-specific COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes,” where we highlighted particular individual demographics that are at greater risk for the disease (2). That has very recently been published in Frontiers of Medicine.
Our group has been working diligently toward a series of additional manuscripts focused around COVID-19 based on our original findings. For example, one paper is focused on the comparative public health responses between states and how that relates to data retrieved during the 1918 influenza pandemic. In another, we are reviewing additional data sources related to severe cases and mortality rates.
The additional exposure from these published COVID-19 papers has brought about novel collaborations and new funding sources, and new research projects are being mobilized that won’t require me to use my lab. For example, one study will be conducted by American colleagues who are working in China on the impact of COVID-19 on anxiety and resilience after returning to school. Another is a collaboration with a former colleague aiming to highlight unique COVID-19 cases that are unlike typical responses to the disease. It has truly been an interesting adventure so far!
References
Dr. Brent M. Peterson is currently an Associate Professor and Stewart Honors Fellow in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science housed in the newly founded School of Science, Technology and Health housed in the 91,000 square foot Alton and Lydia Lim Center at Biola University.
March 12, 2020, was a day that ignited a season in my life that I will always remember. That day our administration informed the university community that we were to leave campus and continue our work online. While many faculty colleagues were panicking and fearful, I was not. My background as a physiologist with a second master’s degree in public health prepared me well for the likely public health responses that may transpire.
I was disappointed, though, that all of my research projects would abruptly be cancelled. The projects I was working on were related to many different aspects of cancer, but I also had multiple projects where we were investigating the effects of exercise (or stress) on various biological markers of inflammation. The problem was that the work I do specifically requires humans as subjects. Therefore, when my lab closed down and I could no longer continue my research, I was left with a hole that increasingly filled with disappointment and discouragement as the days progressed.
Then, as God would have it, an incredible opportunity arose right at the perfect time! I was approached by a brilliant and highly respected colleague of mine who had the idea to begin working on a COVID-19 project together in which we would investigate interpersonal viral transmission. Weeks later we published our first paper, “Does COVID-19 Spread Through Droplets Alone?,” in Frontiers of Public Health and provided some explanations and potential mechanisms for how the spread of COVID-19 has transpired (1). Essentially, we posited that public health recommendations should further review current standards to take into account some of the recent events that demonstrated mechanistic function indicative of aerosol activity. Shortly thereafter, we started working on a meta-analysis entitled “Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Sex-specific COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes,” where we highlighted particular individual demographics that are at greater risk for the disease (2). That has very recently been published in Frontiers of Medicine.
Our group has been working diligently toward a series of additional manuscripts focused around COVID-19 based on our original findings. For example, one paper is focused on the comparative public health responses between states and how that relates to data retrieved during the 1918 influenza pandemic. In another, we are reviewing additional data sources related to severe cases and mortality rates.
The additional exposure from these published COVID-19 papers has brought about novel collaborations and new funding sources, and new research projects are being mobilized that won’t require me to use my lab. For example, one study will be conducted by American colleagues who are working in China on the impact of COVID-19 on anxiety and resilience after returning to school. Another is a collaboration with a former colleague aiming to highlight unique COVID-19 cases that are unlike typical responses to the disease. It has truly been an interesting adventure so far!
References
- Galbadage, T., Peterson, B.M., & Gunasekera, R.S. (2020). Does COVID-19 spread through droplets alone? Frontiers in Public Health, 8: 163. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00163
- Galbadage, T., Peterson, B.M., Awada, J., Buck, A.S., Ramirez, D.A., … Gunasekera, R.S. (2020). Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Sex-specific COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes. Frontiers in Medicine, 7: 348. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.00348
Dr. Brent M. Peterson is currently an Associate Professor and Stewart Honors Fellow in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science housed in the newly founded School of Science, Technology and Health housed in the 91,000 square foot Alton and Lydia Lim Center at Biola University.