We face horrific and unprecedented challenges in the provision of medical care to patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Healthcare systems around the world are straining—even failing—as demand continues its ever-upward trajectory. So far, success has required draconian quarantining measures in China, or high-throughput testing coupled with social distancing in South Korea. At the time of this writing, the epicenter of the pandemic is Europe, and the Western hemisphere is gearing up rapidly for an anticipated onslaught.
What does this mean for science? It is appropriate and reasonable to drastically curtail scientific research, including cardiovascular research, that does not directly pertain to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. For the sake of limiting spread and protecting workers, wet laboratories and other research programs have been shut down around the world in a comprehensive effort to “flatten the curve.” This is appropriate, reasonable, and likely life-saving. That said, halting scientific discovery certainly slows the emergence of life-saving insights and therapies; as we all are aware, cardiovascular disease remains the number 1 killer around the globe.
No one knows how long this shutdown will last, yet already it has entailed considerable diversion of scarce resources, as reagents are discarded, animals euthanized, human subjects rescheduled, clinical trials halted, and more. Some research personnel are unable to accomplish meaningful work-related tasks from home; as such, they are idled but, as is appropriate, still on payroll. Where will we be if the shutdown lasts for months, with discovery science remaining idled and clinical trials crippled, if not stopped altogether?
Some aspects of science continue apace. At Circulation, we remain “open for business” and are devoting resources to unveil the cardiovascular implications of COVID-19 and the impact the pandemic is having on cardiovascular practitioners. We continue to evaluate manuscripts across the full spectrum of cardiovascular science. Funding bodies will continue to evaluate grant applications. Pivotal aspects of the engine of science—papers and grants—continue to function.
How, then, do we deal with a situation in which a strong paper would become a great paper with a modest amount of additional experimentation, but conducting those additional experiments will likely be delayed by months or more? How do grant reviewers deal with a proposal that lacks an element of preliminary data owing to the fact that the investigators’ research efforts are at a standstill; the proposal is deemed to be timely, feasible, and potentially important, but one additional experiment is lacking? In these unprecedented circumstances, how does science continue to progress without compromising quality?
At Circulation, just as is undoubtedly the case at most journals, we will not compromise the quality of the science we publish during this pause in scientific discovery efforts. The science we publish must endure the test of time, lasting long after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed; this has been the abiding commitment of our now 70-year-old journal, and it will continue.
All that said, we recognize that on occasion our “wish list” of analyses and experiments may not be feasible; although a paper we deem valid and impactful would be even better with additional experimentation, that work may be impossible to perform during the current shutdown. This has always been an issue with clinical and population science papers that derive from a dataset that did not include collection of data we would like to see. Now, we face the same issue with our basic/translational papers. We will evaluate those circumstances—in which we wish we had more—on a case-by-case basis. Going forward, if a strong and valid paper lacks the one additional experiment that we would ordinarily request, we will face this exceptional circumstance with a considered, respectful, and thoughtful decision process.
Just as is the case around the world, we are learning on the fly. We face a situation that, to our knowledge, has never occurred in the history of humanity, certainly not in our lifetimes; even during the world wars, academic and industry-based science continued. Not now.
Our abiding commitment to publish science that is reliable, valid, and reproducible will never change. We are proud of our reputation of publishing only the highest quality research, and that guiding principle will not change now. Our global team of expert editors, many of whom work on the front lines in hospitals that are presently, or will be soon, under siege from COVID-19, will continue to work together to curate the best science in cardiovascular medicine. We will continue to partner with you to fulfill our mutual mission of advancing cardiovascular science for the good of humanity, especially during these times of urgent challenge, anxiety, and forthright resolve.
In these difficult times, we offer you and your families our sincere best wishes.
Disclosures
None.