Research Dynamics within a New Multi-Institutional Cross-Disciplinary Translational Team (MCTT): A Formative Study

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: This report evaluates participants'experiences from three universities who assembled a complex grant proposal related to research on post-acute sequala of COVID-19 (PASC), also called long COVID. Activities reviewed ranged from the assembly of the team to responses to reviews by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews, conducted and recorded on Zoom, with a sample of 15 scientists and staff both during proposal assembly and following proposal review. The sample comprised 40% of the total team equally selected from the 3 universities, The interview protocol was reviewed by the IRB at UTMB and the interviews were recorded on Zoom, and analyzed by means of the constant comparative strategy in the grounded theory method of qualitative research. Given the relatively small number of interviews in this project, we paid special attention to preserving the confidentiality of respondents. Only the verbal tracks of the interviews were professionally transcribed. Respondents were asked to suggest changes for future inter-organizational proposals. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: FIRST INTERVIEWS *LEADERSHIP: The scope of leadership opportunities was expanded as sub-teams in specific areas such as community engagement were formed. *TEAM: Each university's community engagement team specializes in a different ethnic clientele, precluding a singular statement for the proposal. SECOND INTERVIEWS *LEADERSHIP: Staff members noted that the team concept too easily evolved into a bureaucratic format, resulting in less negotiation and more direction. *ASSEMBLY TASKS: The Writing Team turned out to be one of the most critical staff teams. *COMMUNICATION: The behavioral scientists in community engagement do not necessarily share paradigms (e.g., public health, psychology, and social work). They had difficulty generating productive communication and a unified statement for the proposal. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The scientists, as a group, suggested that future proposals should focus on one general topic, such as the microbiome, as opposed to attempting to integrate widely divergent interests. The scientists as a group should decide a priori whether to treat innovative ideas such as machine learning science as a science or a service.

Long COVID and mental health correlates: a new chronic condition fits existing patterns.

Background: Emerging Long COVID research indicates the condition has major population health consequence. Other chronic conditions have previously been associated with functional and mental health challenges - including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide ideation, substance use and lower life satisfaction. Methods: This study explores correlations between self-reported Long COVID, functional and mental health challenges among a random community-based sample of people (n = 655) aged 20-50 years who contracted COVID-19 prior to vaccination in a Texas county. A random sample of eligible participants was mailed a link to participate in a semi-structured questionnaire. Participant responses, including open-ended responses regarding their experience following COVID-19, were paired with health system data. Results: Long COVID was associated with increased presence of depression (13% increase), anxiety (28% increase), suicide ideation (10% increase), PTSD (20% increase), and decreased life satisfaction and daily functioning. Structural equation modeling, controlling for sociodemographic variables and imposing a theoretical framework from existing chronic disease research, demonstrated correlations between Long COVID and higher PTSD, suicide ideation and lower life satisfaction were mediated by higher daily functional challenges and common mental disorders. Conclusions: Basic and applied, interdisciplinary research is urgently needed to characterize the population-based response to the new challenge of Long COVID.

Avian reservoirs: virus hunters and birdwatchers in Chinese sentinel posts: by Frédéric Keck, Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2020, 256 pp., $26.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-4780-0698-5

Genomic epidemiology can yield insights about antimicrobial resistance, mutations that might make pathogens more virulent, and population-level disease dynamics. Some readers of I New Genetics and Society i will be aware of the increasing role of pathogen genomics in disease control, which Keck discusses. As I was reading Frédéric Keck's I Avian Reservoirs: Virus Hunters and Birdwatchers in Chinese Sentinel Posts i in November 2020, news broke that Denmark would be culling its entire population of around 15 million farmed mink. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of New Genetics & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Open science, COVID-19, and the news: Exploring controversies in the circulation of early SARS-CoV-2 genomic epidemiology research.

Some early English language news coverage of COVID-19 epidemiology focused on studies that examined how SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) was evolving at the genetic level. The use of phylogenetic methods to analyse pathogen genetic sequence data to understand disease dynamics is called 'molecular' or 'genomic' epidemiology. Many research groups in this subfield utilise open science practices, which can involve the circulation of early unreviewed findings on publicly-accessible venues online. From March to May 2020, media outlets covered early SARS-CoV-2 genomic studies that claimed to have discovered types of SARS-CoV-2 that had mutated to be more transmissible. We use methods from Science and Technology Studies (STS) to examine three cumulative cases in which unripe facts about SARS-CoV-2 genomics moved out of scientific publics and into mainstream news. The three cases are: (1) 'A More "Aggressive" Strain of SARS-CoV-2?', (2) 'Eight SARS-CoV-2 Strains?', and (3) 'A "More Contagious," "Mutant" Strain?' In each case, findings were called into question and reporters' framing was overly sensational. We interpret the COVID-19 pandemic as a 'stress-test' for open science practices, and argue that it is important for stakeholders to understand changes in scientific publication and dissemination processes in the wake of the pandemic.

Alternatives to sharing COVID-19 data with law enforcement: Recommendations for stakeholders.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in some jurisdictions, police have become involved in enforcing coronavirus-related measures. Relatedly, several North American jurisdictions have established COVID-19 data sharing protocols with law enforcement. Research across a range of fields has demonstrated that involving police in matters of public health disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable and does more harm than good. This is reflected in the consensus against COVID-19 criminalization that has emerged among civil society organizations focused on HIV, human rights, and harm reduction. The European Data Protection Board has also released guidelines against re-uses of COVID-19 data for law enforcement purposes. This article offers an overview of the harms of criminalizing illnesses and strategies for health stakeholders to seek alternatives to sharing COVID-19 data with police agencies while facilitating interoperability with healthcare first responders. It also presents case studies from two North American jurisdictions - Ontario and Minnesota - that have established routine COVID-19 data sharing with police. We recommended seven alternatives, including designating COVID-19 data as sensitive and implementing segmented interoperability with first responder agencies. These guidelines can help ensure that health information technology platforms do not become vehicles for the criminalization of COVID-19, and that health data stay within the health system.