U.S. Research Universities Have a Critical Role in Ending this Pandemic

As published on nj.com

May 24, 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak has elicited an extraordinary response from our nation — from the heroism of our medical workers to the bold actions of our government leaders to the diligent isolation of millions of American citizens to the creative compassion of those sewing masks, making face shields on 3D printers, or volunteering at drive-by food banks. Equally remarkable has been the response from our scientific community, a response that has brought into sharp focus the wisdom of our nation’s investment in science at our research universities.

Science has played a critical role in shaping our nation. Think of Thomas Jefferson’s innovations in agriculture and Alexander Hamilton’s interest in government-funded improvements in technology to boost industry. Abraham Lincoln’s signature on the Morrill Act established land-grant colleges across the country dedicated to agricultural science and engineering.

And as World War II was moving toward an Allied victory — won in part through innovations in weaponry, medicine and aviation — Franklin Roosevelt commissioned the report “Science: The Endless Frontier,” which recognized the depth of scientific expertise on campuses across the country and set the stage for a government-university partnership in research that continues today.

The war on coronavirus demands the best of our science and scientists, and premier research universities across America and around the world have answered the call. It is a point of pride for all New Jerseyans that Rutgers University has been recognized among the leading universities in the fight against this deadly virus.

The saliva test for COVID-19 that Rutgers researchers developed is a game-changer for having more people tested more rapidly and more safely. This test is now the first FDA-approved at-home test for the virus and does not require health care workers or PPE.

Over the past decade, Rutgers researchers have developed a diagnostic technology using molecular beacons that image RNA in living cells. This technology, which has been used around the world in testing for HIV, tuberculosis, and meningitis, is now critical to a rapid test for COVID-19 developed by Abbott Laboratories and championed by the White House.

And in record time, through the collaboration of laboratories at universities around the world, a detailed molecular picture of the COVID-19 virus has been deduced. These protein structures, which now serve as the blueprints for rapid vaccine development, are stored in, and distributed worldwide from, the national Protein Data Bank housed at Rutgers.

But we’re far from alone. From the start of the pandemic, Johns Hopkins University has been recognized as the definitive source for data on coronavirus cases worldwide. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Care Metrics and Evaluations is being used by both federal and state governments to model the COVID-19 impact. Studies at the University of Nebraska and the University of Chicago, among others, have shown potential benefits of the antiviral drug remdesivir, initially developed to treat Ebola, in helping COVID patients recover.

University of Florida researchers are developing a test for the virus that would work similarly to a home pregnancy test, helping those infected by the virus to know early and self-isolate. The University of Pittsburgh has a potential vaccine now in pre-clinical evaluation that would be administered through a fingertip-sized patch. University of Southern California researchers are developing a way to conduct contact tracing through smartphones that would preserve privacy while helping identify hotspots. And these are just a few examples from a much longer list.

Just as major research universities have been vital in the response to coronavirus, they will be critical to our global recovery from the disease. This includes not only the medical research to devise effective vaccines, but also the training of a post-COVID generation of nurses, physicians, scientists, engineers, business professionals, and other workers; job-creating inventions and technologies that produce the next wave of economic growth; and studies that examine the impact of this crisis and aid in public policies to address inequities.

We all gain from a robust system of research universities dedicated to discoveries that may soon lead to advanced technologies; that provide solutions to intractable social and economic problems; and that enable testing, treatments, and cures to coronavirus and other deadly diseases.

There may have been a time when universities and their discoveries were taken for granted or their relevance questioned. And fiscally strapped governments may have justified budget cuts to higher education as a second- or third-tier priority. But the COVID-19 pandemic is a potent reminder that America’s research universities are critical drivers of public good and public health — and that federal funding for university research is in our nation’s best interests.