Supply Shortages Hit Life Science Labs Hard

The pandemic continues to make it difficult for researchers to get reagents and other materials in high demand for COVID-19 research and testing, threatening experiments’ progress and scientists’ careers.

Written byShawna Williams

| 6 min read

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Few aspects of life have been unchanged by the pandemic. While some effects, such as last spring’s shortages of toilet paper, flour, and grocery delivery slots, are now a thing of the past, backorders of lab supplies continue to this day. Researchers are paying more and waiting longer for items such as gloves, pipet tips, and reagents due to their use in testing for SARS-CoV-2, eating through funds and slowing research. The problem is so acute that some researchers say they’re concerned about hitting the milestones needed to advance their careers.

“My biggest fear as a junior assistant professor right now is that we’re going to lose a lot of people from this generation of science. . . . There’s going to be a lot of people in my cohort of assistant professors who just aren’t going to make it as a result of this,” says ...

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Meet the Author

Shawna Williams
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Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.
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