Many individuals in the Yale community have answered the call to contribute to combatting the COVID-19 crisis.
Jane Taylor, PhD, Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry, of Psychology and of Neuroscience, is one of them.
Taylor’s laboratory, which focuses on the dysfunction of cortico-limbic-striatal circuits that may cause increased impulsivity and alterations in reward-related learning that have relevance to drug addition and such health concerns as depression, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, recently donated its supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to Yale New Haven Hospital.
Like many other researchers, Taylor said the impact on her lab has been significant. Certain experiments had to be halted, leading to the loss of important research.
“Of course, losing months of research is terrible, but this needs to be kept in perspective as there are many things that we as a research lab can be doing over the coming period - writing papers and grants, analyzing data and doing literature searches,” she said.
When it was clear that our lab would be essentially shut down it seemed only natural to think about what might be useful to donate in terms of PPE items. They are just sitting in our empty labs.
Jane Taylor, PhD, Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry, of Psychology and of Neuroscience
“When it was clear that our lab would be essentially shut down it seemed only natural to think about what might be useful to donate in terms of PPE items,” Taylor said. “They are just sitting in our empty labs.”
Taylor was able to coordinate donation of her lab’s materials after receiving a notice from the Vice Provosts for Research at Yale office of Dr. Michael Crair.
Lab manager Hayde Sanchez went into the lab on March 23 and rounded up their PPE supplies, such as N95 and regular masks, face shields and goggles, disinfectants and wipes, and 70 boxes of gloves of various sizes. The one-time donation was completed by March 27.
"We are happy to help the dedicated staff of YNHH," Taylor said. "They will need these items to take care of the New Haven and Yale community, and keep themselves safe. I think most people understand how much these supplies are needed in the emergency."