January 21, 2021, by Communications
The role of biomedical scientists during COVID-19
The novel coronavirus disease discovered in 2019, now formally known as COVID-19, has impacted our lives greatly in the past year. In an effort to create more awareness of this topic, Dr Georgina Marsh, Assistant Professor from the School of Pharmacy, addressed the four key roles played by biomedical scientists during the COVID-19 pandemic. She shared these pointers with University of Nottingham colleagues during the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FOSE) Programme Update for recruitment and marketing teams on 11 January 2021.
Due to the fast and wide-ranging spread of COVID-19, biomedical scientists played an important role in helping to understand the nature of this new virus. The roles of a biomedical scientist during this pandemic are summed up as follows:
- Developing an understanding of the virus
Biomedical science involves the understanding of the processes of the human body and how these change in disease. Over the last year, biomedical scientists have been helping to develop an understanding of the virus and how it infiltrates and infects the body. This includes evaluating its structure, the way it spreads and tracking mutations to form different strains.
- Recommendation of health precautions
With this increase of understanding, biomedical scientists can work with health agencies and governments to provide advice on the effectiveness of precautions taken by frontliners and the general public to curb the spread of the virus. By studying how the virus transmits including between people and via airborne transmission, health guidelines such as the safe distance to keep between individuals, and the type of masks that would be most effective in preventing the spread of the virus can be made. Their knowledge of how the virus effects the human body also allows for the identification of those who are most at risk of catching the virus, and those who are vulnerable to more severe symptoms and possible mortality. This can then eventually contribute to the basis of health SOPs given out by governments and private organisations.
Biomedical scientists are also trained in digesting complex scientific data in order to relay the important information to the general public in an easy to understand format.
- Test development
In early March 2020, it became apparent that 1% of cases presented with no symptoms. The urgent need to develop an effective and reliable test, that could be easily administered was critical in helping to contain the spread of the virus. Biomedical scientists, working closely with other disciplines were central to helping to develop the swab test to ascertain if an individual has been infected with COVID-19. The reliability of tests being sourced is a key factor in ensuring infected individuals are located and quarantined, biomedical scientists working in quality assurance are also central in ensuring tests meet the required standards.
- Vaccine development
The final role they play has been part of a multi-disciplinary team involved in developing several vaccines with unprecedented speed to render individuals immune to COVID-19, which will eventually lead to the eradication of the pandemic and have life return to normal.
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