Research in the context of COVID-19
Research in the context of COVID-19
The Animal Research Nexus team would like to recognise the ongoing work and care of everyone across the biomedical research, animal research, and health and public engagement communities today.
We are posting this statement to let people know we will be pausing all of our face-to-face research activities for the foreseeable future, including meetings, workshops, interviews, patient involvement, and public engagement activities. We will be reviewing this in the summer.
We would like to thank all of the animal technicians, veterinarians, scientific researchers, policy-makers, welfare groups, patient representatives, artists and makers, and members of the public and others who have taken part in our research so far. We are grateful to you all for sharing your expertise and experience with us, and hope the events and interpretations we have generated together have been opportunities for valuable collaborative reflection.
We would also like to thank the Wellcome Trust for their support for our research and their leadership in this global health emergency.
The Animal Research Nexus Team will continue to work together virtually to make sense of the research we have completed so far. In due course, we will put more of our research and engagement material online on our website, including relevant external links to the connections between COVID-19 and the animal research nexus.
Our work uses co-produced humanities and social science approaches to understand the network of social, economic, and ethical practices that underpin animal research. The pandemic is revealing these in public and unprecedented ways, and in ways that is going to involve extraordinary challenges for those who work across this field.
Many of us have worked closely with those in the animal research community to understand how collaboration and care is practiced. We have contributed to developing guidelines for policy, education, ethical review, continuing professional development, patient involvement and public engagement, as well as creative methods to consider how those whose roles require care can be supported in their work.
We are unlikely to come to you with new requests for participation in our research during this period. However, we would welcome any of you coming to us for a conversation if you think our research and skills can help and support work to address these challenges.
The Animal Research Nexus Team