Abstract
At this most difficult time, we recognize that the members of the biomedical research community around the world are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel has been disrupted throughout the world, and many scientists have been forced to “ramp down” their research activity in order to facilitate social distancing and slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2 within your communities. We understand how difficult this is for many of you who have had to interrupt your critical ongoing work. Many of our academic societies have also been forced to consider digital and virtual alternatives to their international conferences. Within our educational institutions, graduate students and medical students have had to alter their programs of study rapidly and potentially face delays in their progress toward their terminal degrees. Under such conditions, many of you are likely dealing with significant anxiety and social isolation in a most trying time.
We also recognize that those of you who are physicians may be working among those caring for patients with serious illness due to COVID-19, putting yourselves and your families at significant risk for serious illness. We particularly want to recognize our many physician-scientist contributors from hard-hit areas such as China, Italy, and Germany. And we salute those of you engaged directly in research on prophylactics, therapies, and diagnostic testing for COVID-19. Your work is critically important to all of us.
At Human Gene Therapy, we plan to continue publishing the journal as we always have. The current slowdown in some wet-lab research could provide an opportunity for some to finish writing manuscripts in preparation and submit them. We will continue reviewing these submissions and publishing the journal monthly. Perhaps this could serve as one vehicle for maintaining the connectedness of the gene and cell therapy research community. It is our sincere hope that all of you will remain safe and well.