Overstretched and overlooked: solving challenges faced by early-career investigators after the pandemic

Continued impact of COVID-19 pandemic on clinical and translational science early-career researchers

“…Interestingly, our exploratory analysis of these data revealed that the ways in which research was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 significantly differed by career status and highest degree but not by gender or under-represented status. This is a thought-provoking finding and differs from work by others who have reported that those who identify as female or meet the NIH definition of underrepresentation suffered more negative consequences related to the pandemic [2,4,[10][11][12]. This discrepancy creates an opportunity for future research.…”

“…For example, the work of Cardel, Dean, and Montoya-Williams as well as Davis and colleagues offers a collection of solutions to well-documented barriers facing women investigators [11,13]. Additionally, Humphries et al examine the unequal pandemic experience of early-career versus established researchers and propose ideas for charting an equitable path forward [10]. This time of increased focus may be our best opportunity to implement long-term solutions that will increase the probability that all have an equal opportunity to achieve career success.…”

Doctoral researchers’ mental health and PhD training satisfaction during the German COVID-19 lockdown: results from an international research sample

“…Further, although our male participants reported higher levels of depression and anxiety, female participants reported higher burnout scores. As shown in previous studies during the pandemic, women were more likely to engage in housework, care and family 13 , which relates to physical and psychological fatigue and exhaustion 15 , but less so to depression.…”

“…This might have been especially challenging for first year doctoral researchers and international doctoral researchers, who were disconnected from previous social networks and had limited chances to establish new ones after their relocation. For ECRs with children and family care duties, personal responsibilities increased as kindergarten and eldercare facilities closed, which had a disproportionate impact on female scientists 13 .…”