Guest Editorial: Pandemic work among medical branch's finest moments

NOTE: This guest editorial first appeared in the March 24, 2021, issue of the Galveston County Daily News.

By Dr. Randy Urban, UTMB Chief Research Officer and Interim Director, Galveston National Laboratory and Dr. Scott Weaver, Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Director, Institute for Human Infections and Immunity.

As we pass the one-year mark from the start of this pandemic, it’s almost unfathomable to think of the challenges we’ve experienced as a society. It’s been a year unlike any in our lifetimes.  There is no one who has been unaffected.

The pandemic has presented a unique opportunity for people from all walks of life to respond to a crisis.

Every day for the past year, we’ve seen our colleagues show up determined to have an impact. We have the privilege of working side-by-side brave healthcare professionals and brilliant scientists across every discipline, all united in the goal of ending the pandemic.  These are colleagues we’ve known for many years, sharing the unspoken truth that there has never been a more important or exciting time to be involved in biomedical science.

Even in the most challenging situations, when we have a chance to catch our breath, it’s amazing to stop and think of just how much our UTMB colleagues and this community have accomplished together.

From the earliest days of the pandemic UTMB was uniquely positioned to play a major role.  With serious coronavirus research experience and internationally respected infectious disease expertise, our teams have been at the forefront from basic through clinical research.

Our colleagues in healthcare have treated patients and led clinical trials that involved hundreds of community members: normal, everyday people who stepped up to be the first, and whose willingness has led to tens-of-millions of Americans receiving life-saving vaccines.

Scientists joke that no one selects our career for the accolades.  But over the past year, we’ve received a few.  For the second year in a row, the UTMB Microbiology & Immunology Department received more funding from the National Institutes of Health and its agencies than any other M&I research department in the country – more than $35Million.    That’s thanks to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of people across many departments in our Institute for Human Infections and Immunity.  It’s a testament to the collaborative spirit at UTMB.

Serious science doesn’t happen without funding, and our NIH is supporting the development of treatments and vaccines that will save lives around the world.  It’s supporting the education of our students – the leading scientists and physicians of tomorrow – who also realize how fortunate they are for unique opportunities during this unprecedented time in medical history.

Federal funding is only part of the picture.  UTMB is in the enviable position of being located in a community dedicated to its success for more than 125 years.  Over the last year, we’ve enjoyed free lunches and goodies delivered to our faculty and staff, as well as major contributions from the Sealy & Smith Foundation among many others.  This allowed us to upgrade our facilities with new equipment to support both research and patient care. We have benefitted for over 20 years from amazing community support for our high containment microbiology programs in facilities like the Galveston National Laboratory.

While it’s still too soon to proclaim victory over COVID-19, it’s not too soon to pause and reflect on just how much we have accomplished together, and to say thank you to this community for your continued support.