Some reflections on the challenges of being a scientist right now
1. The fundamental, unspoken challenge is the stress induced by uncertainty about the future (science or more broadly). It impacts everything we do and any ability to focus and get things done.

2. My own lab group is more important to me than ever before, and our connections have increased with weekly Zoom check-ins, scheduled meetings (not interrupted by travel and other things, so more regular than before!), journal clubs, lab meetings, happy hours. A reason to :)

3) I've also seen a lot to be heartened about. Everything from one lab member helping another with data analysis, to lab members sending food and groceries to a lab member impacted personally by COVID. We need to take the time to note these efforts and take inspiration

4. We still have lots of science to discuss, and not enough time to do it. Be it papers we are trying to write/revise, data now analyzed we can review, cool papers from other labs->so much to talk about and so much fun!

5. That being said I am aware that I am in a very, very fortunate context. I have a lab which is fully established and works well as a feed-forward team->very difficult for new PIs who were just getting going.

6. I have kids aged 10, 13, 15->it takes work to ensure they remain on track/engaged but it is much, much different than those w/ young children at home. And the differences in gender and impact on home responsibilities is really, really important to consider/address best we can

7. Those of us who can spend bandwidth need to INCREASE contribution. I am accepting more paper review requests, agreed to do NIH study section (just came off as chair and had planned a "break), meeting w trainees/junior faculty from anywhere who want to talk science.

8. I am having (most often home cooked) dinner with my family every night, and this makes me happier than anything (even with dining table fights!). We are going to do more of this moving forwards

9. So many people in our community have been personally impacted by COVID-19, and there will be many downstream consequences for our field and society. We need to find one new way to contribute, and pay forward in ways we never have before.