Greetings!

Linda Lowe-Krentz, Ph.D. Professor and Chair

As I write this message, I know that exactly one year ago we were told by WHO that there was a pandemic underway. Little could any of us have imagined the difficult year we would have.

Even though many of us in Biology know a large amount about manipulating genetic material, few of us would have envisioned the production of mRNA-based, and other novel vaccines, that has happened so rapidly. Together the vaccines result in a very clear light at the end of this tunnel.

As luck would have it, I got my first vaccine dose today. While I ponder all that has happened this year, I wonder how those who endured the Spanish Flu epidemic and other epidemics over the centuries thought about their futures. Scientists are far from having all the answers, but this year has caused us to think about not only novel vaccines and potential future pandemics, but also about how we are largely social individuals. 

This pandemic has also caused us to think more than ever about fairness of access to health care, how science has, and continues to be, intertwined with all of history, and how basic research continues to be critical for our future. I believe one result is that at Lehigh we will work at integrating basic science education with a broader view of science history and its place in our society.

At Lehigh, in the Department of Biological Sciences, this year brought lots of changes, as well as more remote teaching than we ever envisioned. We have celebrated retirements, arrival of new faculty, and administrative appointments, as you can see throughout this newsletter. There is news from many of our Alums, exciting COVID-19 research, and more.

While I am writing this from my home, expecting you may read it in yours, I look forward to the near future when we will be back on South Mountain.

Linda Lowe-Krentz, PhD
Professor and Chair