May 3rd, 2021
I should begin by looking back, back to the unprecedented challenges to our personal and work lives that struck without warning in 2020. Having never experienced an event that disrupted my daily routine quite so completely, adjustment to the ‘new normal’ felt unattainable. The early weeks of the pandemic tasked all of us with the frantic execution of lab safety plans evolving week by week, adjusting to collaboration by Zoom and for me, finding solutions to the smallest but surprisingly important operational details, such as ‘where should the mail be delivered when no one is in’?
All of us in Biological Structure weathered the pandemic storm together and continue to do so with vigilance to keep each other safe. I am so proud of our resilience and will to succeed! Our Department continues to advance its research and educational missions with tremendous energy. We garnered new research funding, our graduate students defended their thesis work virtually and with elegance, and stellar scientific publications never faltered. Our junior faculty attained prestigious new investigator awards, while I felt tremendously honored with my election to the National Academy of Sciences. The critical teaching mission responded with creative new approaches to make essential in-person training a success. Our dedicated office staff worked remotely but tirelessly behind the scenes supporting Departmental operations and the Willed Body Program. The past year also reminded us gravely that social injustice still strongly permeates our society. Our DEI committee worked with care to increase our awareness of these injustices through Book Clubs, workshops and frank discussions. Together, we are moving forward to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in our Department. Finally, we developed a new Department website we can all be proud of! I thank in particular, our Acting instructor, Yeon-Jin Kim and our faculty member, Dennis Dacey, for their creativity and dedication to generating a ‘new look’ to our website, which better captures our members and our mission.
As we reach the spring of 2021, our optimism is boundless. Our research labs are thriving as we welcome new members to the Department and plan a progressive future. Regardless of when our hallways and meeting rooms are bustling again or when we can celebrate our trainees’ achievements in person, I know we will persevere.
Thank you all for your hard work in keeping us safe, productive, connected and successful!
Rachel Wong