Update from the Chair: Smile Therapy and COVID-19 Journal Club

Dear Members of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Community,

A recent Science magazine article asked whether pets should be tested for coronavirus. The photo accompanying the piece, a dog wearing a mask in Shanghai, brought a smile to my face and should be circulated widely as a form of smile therapy. Here is another image, for the musical scientists among you, on social distancing or "keeping one wavelength apart at 140 to 165 Hz."

Many of you have given me positive feedback and inquired about the links I post in these updates. I have started a collection of useful, informative, and illuminating links and tips around the COVID-19 pandemic on a webpage here. The page will be updated frequently.

There is one more encouraging message from a colleague at home under quarantine I want to share with you: "When I think of all the individuals on the front lines of this war with the Corona virus -- all our department faculty mostly working at home and online and lab staff who are at HUP daily, the physicians and nurses seeing patients, all the transportation providers, police, restaurants who provide meals, the food pantries, and so many others, it is very impressive what the responses are. There’s lots of individual introspection, offers of help, and inspirational thinking about others going on. It is, in a sense, 'breathtaking' as the battle goes on. ... I look forward to getting back to being there physically, but in the meantime work goes on: grants/manuscripts/lab meetings via Zoom and emails, and so on."

I also want to call attention to the COVID-19 Population Sciences Journal Club virtual sessions for the PSOM community that are starting today. In response to the growing body of COVID-19 research, the DBEI and CCEB have created the COVID-19 Population Sciences Journal Club to apply rigorous scientific methods to evaluate research studies that can inform best practices, policies, and further studies. Each Wednesday at 9 AM EST via BlueJeans, they will critically review relevant literature, identify new questions, and explore opportunities to provide answers. For more information, please contact Sue White.

Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other.

David Roth
Chair, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine