The challenges of being a virologist during the COVID-19 pandemic
Aligned with our mission to advance the understanding and impact of microbiology, the Society reached out to our community of microbiologists to share their experiences in responding to SARS-CoV-2. We aim to showcase the perspective of scientists during the COVID-19 pandemic and the variety of roles adopted to mitigate the global crisis.
This case study is from Dr Elisabetta Groppelli, a Lecturer in Global Health at St George’s University of London, who led the establishment of SARS-CoV-2 research at the Institute for Infection and Immunity. Elisabetta discusses the challenges of starting a new position and establishing a research group during a pandemic, her involvement with public engagement and the personal challenges of living through the first pandemic of our lifetime.
How did you respond to SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The pandemic struck as I started as Lecturer in Global Health at St George’s University of London. The focus of my research was going to be the Hepatitis A virus and the development of a novel and affordable vaccine using plants. However, it quickly became clear that none of that was going to happen any time soon and I started thinking that maybe I could help with SARS-CoV-2.
Since my PhD, I had wanted to become a virologist – intended as an expert on viruses, not as an expert on a single virus or a part of it. Although I remained convinced that I wanted to learn from different viruses, some job interviews became challenging when questions like “Can’t you make a decision about sticking with one virus?” came up. I don’t think I have ever had a good answer, until I was a lecturer spearheading the establishment of SARS-CoV-2 in research settings at St George’s. Both the process and the research contain elements from each of the viruses and projects I have worked on, from Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) experience with HIV-1 and Ebola virus diagnostics in West Africa, to the classical workhorse of virology, the plaque assay, which I had used with poliovirus.
Very quickly, many SARS-CoV-2 projects started at St George's. These included the validation of rapid tests and molecular tests with industrial partners; virus culture to support clinical decisions in the context of immunocompromised patients; and investigating the presence and neutralisation power of antibodies in serum and saliva in recovered and/or vaccinated patients. More recently, we have obtained funding for immunogenicity studies on a novel mucosal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. In December 2021, I was awarded the St George's University Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Lecturer.
In the first year of the pandemic, I felt that I could help the public make sense of the virus and, although I had never had any media training, I ended up contributing to more than 400 media events/items (national and international radio, TV, newspapers, websites). On Twitter, I was also passionate about communicating the Italian situation to an English-speaking audience and talking about being a volunteer on the AstraZeneca vaccine trial (first dose: 4th May 2020). In December 2020, I received the St George's University Award for Public Engagement.
In winter 2021, as the UK Government rolled out testing to allow University students to travel home safely for Christmas and then return safely, I drew on my experience as in-country lead for Public Health England in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak and became the clinical lead of our Student Testing Centre.
What were some of the challenges that you faced during this time?
Virologists have not been immune to the challenges of the pandemic. As an Italian in the UK, before the pandemic, I was used to popping over to Milan to see family and friends on a regular basis, and I certainly suffered from not being able to do so. Unfortunately, my partner was working in Nepal, so I didn’t see him for almost a year either. In science and research, even if collaborations provide interactions and SARS-CoV-2 kept me busy, like many, I did struggle with loneliness. For many months I also stopped exercising, but fortunately St George's set up fundraising for COVID-19 studies and I decided to run in my lab coat to help.
In the lab and at my desk, the challenges were more about being a new and newly-arrived academic whose first action was to establish a compliant, productive and creative research portfolio with a pandemic virus within weeks of said virus being identified. There was a lot of trust to be gained and hard work required to keep it. Scientifically, as the sole member of my brand-new research group, it was clear that I needed a SARS-CoV-2 niche and I had to do both the lab work and the desk work. I confess that at the beginning I simply concentrated on the permits and the groundwork, deferring any decision to pursue a specific research question.
What can we learn about the importance of microbiology from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Microbiology reminds us that humans are just one of the life forms on this planet and there are many more life forms we don’t know about than we are familiar with. The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that knowing and working with microbes is much better than being startled and paralysed by them, and that research in microbiology needs to be both about what we know and how to deal with what we don’t.
How did the Microbiology Society play a role in your response?
In summer 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 online meeting was extremely useful and showed the openness and collaborative nature of the Microbiology Society virology community. The Annual Conference Online 2021 was another great event that brought together topics and people (even if only online!) at a time when it was sorely needed.
About the Author
Dr Elisabetta Groppelli is a virologist and Lecturer in Global Health at St George’s University of London, where her research focuses on viruses of great importance for human health, including HIV-1, Ebola virus and poliovirus.
