Scientists work on in spite of coronavirus crisis

Scientists from the University of York’s Jack Birch Unit had to close down their lab on Monday (March 23) – but that hasn’t stopped them pursuing their important work.

Professor Jenny Southgate, Director of the Unit, has worked together with her team to ensure that progress can still be made on critical experiments and other aspects of their research, which is supported by a £1.3m funding package from York Against Cancer.

She said the unit had tried to stay open for as long as it could and it had made arrangements with the University to preserve vital projects and to care for the JBU’s stocks of human cells – the crucial material for the scientists’ work.

“The cells are preserved cryogenically,” said Professor Southgate. “They are kept under liquid nitrogen at -210°C (-320°F) and the liquid nitrogen has to be topped up directly, so we couldn’t just abandon them.

“My deputy director Dr Simon Baker has a big experiment under way at the moment which also could not be abandoned, so he has been given access just to undertake essential husbandry.

“If he should need to self-isolate, I will step in and a third member of staff also has emergency access in case, but the university has insisted that nobody else can get in.”

Professor Southgate said lab staff were holding regular video conferences and she was also holding one-to-one virtual meetings with her team to keep the unit running smoothly.

“We are very much aware that we are supported by York Against Cancer and we are a very dedicated and motivated team,” she said.

“We are trying as far as is possible to continue with our work even though we may not be in the lab. We are using the time to do our thinking and our writing. You can get addicted to lab work and this is a good chance to do the rest of it!

“We are a strong team that works well together, and we will get through this together.”