Chemists amid coronavirus five years on

Five years ago, the world was confronting a pandemic that has so far been linked to 700 million cases and more than 7 million deaths globally. The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines that began in late 2020 eventually contained the virus, but it has left an indelible mark on the world and the research community.

Gary Ruvkun, co-winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation, told Chemistry World at a symposium to honour this year’s Nobel prize laureates in Washington, DC in November the videochat tools that became standard operating procedure during the pandemic have stuck around and continue to be extremely beneficial.

‘It has opened up the worldwide scientific community in a lot of ways,’ he stated. But Ruvkun also emphasised that his lab was at about 10% of capacity for about a year after Covid hit, and then at approximately 20%, and has only recently returned to normal.

Five years ago, Chemistry World checked in with 40 chemists around the globe to see how they were faring during lockdown. Five years later, we’re catching up with four of them to see what long-term effects Covid-19 has had on their lives and careers.

While it has brought a flexibility that has liberated them from travel and allowed for important accommodations, it has also exacerbated differences in chemistry education. In addition, those chemists whose early careers coincided with the pandemic have often needed to take advantage of additional support offered by their institutions and also work extra hard to advance professionally.

Correction: This story was updated on 03 March 2025 to correct the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.