Changing my perspective of bioengineering during COVID-19

Bioengineering research has always felt abstract and separated from the actual world, including after my UROP work and the modules we have done as part of 20.109. It takes so long for an idea to be developed enough in the lab until it can be used for medicine, food, or the environment. Clinical trials at a biotech company often take years, not to mention all of the initial biology research done ahead of time to even set the stage for a treatment or vaccine to start development. 

However, ever since COVID-19 has spread into a pandemic, many people working in biology and bioengineering have been trying to combat the disease. So many research labs and companies are working hard to develop treatments, vaccines, and testing methodologies stop the spread of COVID-19 and help patients who have and will have the disease. I’m fascinated how current tests using PCR and antibodies have been quickly developed and am following the progress of vaccines and treatments in preclinical and clinical trials. 


The way the world is coming together to fix a global issue in medicine has greatly increased my interest in new aspects of bioengineering. I’ve realized that the things we work on in a laboratory can actually make a tremendous difference in people’s lives, often sooner than we think possible. I can't wait to see the new inventions and techniques that arise out of this pandemic and start developing them myself. 

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