The greater prominence enjoyed by scientists during the Covid-19
pandemic has led to some individuals gaining a high profile – with the
attendant praise and demonisation that this can bring. But these public figures
are just the
visible tip of a huge iceberg of effort taking place to combat the pandemic.
To convert one bright idea into 7.5 billion doses of vaccine will take
a huge team of people. This includes not just the lab team developing and test
the vaccine, but also the animal care staff enabling the pre-clinical studies,
the safety staff maintaining a safe environment to work with a potentially
fatal pathogen, the lab managers ensuring that essential reagents are available,
the administrators preparing the relevant grant applications, the ethics boards
reviewing the trials and the trial managers, doctors, nurses, med-students and
volunteers. Not to mention the contracts team negotiating with equipment manufacturers,
the accountants moving the money around, the security officers keeping the
doors open and the communications experts informing the public of progress.
That is just at one institution. And the work is not performed in
isolation: there are external funders, suppliers, manufacturers, regulators,
toxicologists, shippers, couriers and warehouse staff, all of whom are vital to
the process.
Unlike the standard image of an old white academic, staff in professional
roles tend to be more diverse with more women, more BAME and more LGBT. But, in
the UK, they will be excluded by the government’s proposed post-EU new
immigration rules. This would be deeply counter-productive: if the pool of
skilled individuals is reduced, there will be a clear impact on the ability to
deliver cutting edge research, particularly in a time of crisis.
Highlighting the role of these critical core staff is vital. They are
often under-represented in the media. For example, coverage of the recent UK
pension strikes focused on the academics taking part, rather than on all the
other higher education staff who shared the picket lines with them.
As well as not accurately reflecting science as a collective
endeavour, a focus on individuals can, in fact, be toxic. Much of what is wrong
with academia is driven by the narrative that it is a zero-sum game, where only
one person can come out on top. This leads to the back-stabbing, bullying and
bitchiness that characterises the very worst of our sector.
Now as never before, kindness in the workplace is critical. Developing
the vaccine that the world so desperately needs can serve as a demonstration
that great things can be done collaboratively rather than competitively,
belying the inaccurate depiction of it in some places as a race between
different universities. In the UK’s case, the race is supposedly between the University
of Oxford and Imperial College London – but the fact that some of the ChAdOx (Oxford
vaccine) trials are being performed at Imperial tells a very different story.
Thinking ahead, maybe we can use this time as a trigger to rethink
the whole of academia. The first step is acknowledging that it is about more
than the academics. It’s been said before, but when you look at the numbers,
academia is actually the alternative career for science trainees: most enter
other sectors – including academic support roles. All these paths should be
supported and celebrated equally.
If none of the above persuades you, then consider this. Representing
the team nature of science de-risks the process for the individuals, the
institutions and the ideas themselves. People sometimes make mistakes, often
unrelated to the science itself, but this can tarnish the idea. In an
increasingly combative media space, any perceived fault can be manipulated to
damage a broader theme. Demonstrating that science is collective removes one
tool from the arsenal of those that seek to discredit ideas that have universal
benefit, such as vaccination or combatting climate change.
The Wellcome Trust’s Reimagine Research campaign is currently
looking into ways to rebalance the research space. But you don’t need to be a
funder to make a difference. We can all play our part to make higher education
kinder and more inclusive. Take time to say thanks. Reach out to teams outside
your immediate remit. Be public in your praise, raising awareness of the whole
team, not just the star signing. Applaud the whole community of effort.
