Covid is going to have a big impact on PIs budgets, and we’re not talking about this. Most businesses laid-off / furloughed, but we were able to continue paying salaries at 100%. 6 months in, and still severely reduced productivity, and how much this depends on location. (1/n)

This is particularly bad for PIs with budgets are that are overly reliant on expiring funding sources. PIs are being asked to bear the brunt of Covid alone. We need to get more grants with less productivity. Reviewers aren’t making it any easier to publish or get grants. (2/n)

A skeptic will say it’s always like this for PIs, but this is an added weight, and that weight will depend on your institutional risk. So we’re stuck in a particularly bad situation. Find a way to produce w/ severe restrictions or shrink labs in coming months. (3/n)

PIs at institutions that help with salaries burdens will have an advantage, and the inequity that’s already in the system will grow. It’s important the @NIH find some way to help here, like expand programs to give supplements to cover Covid-related shortfalls. (4/n)

This is not easy, but will be necessary as the cuts will impact trainees and Jr. PIs most, particularly at smaller institutions. For the record, this is not necessarily about my situation, but I think it’s very important to increase awareness (5/5).