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Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs,
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Thank you again to all of you who joined us in our town halls earlier this month. If you weren’t able to attend, you can view recordings of both here. I know we weren’t able to get through all the submitted questions, but I’ve shared them with your ADRs and with the other campus units that support the research enterprise, such as UT Libraries, Texas Global, and Facilities. Questions that pertain to research operations overseen by my office will be posted, along with their answers, on our FAQ site.
In the meantime, I have several important updates that are especially relevant if you’re on campus for Research Phase 3. Even if you’re conducting research remotely, however, please read on in case some of this information pertains to you as well:
Staying at Research Phase 3
For now, we will remain in Research Phase 3. With the alarming rise of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Travis County and throughout the state, we cannot yet increase the numbers of researchers on campus. Unfortunately, I can’t say when we’ll be able to move to Research Phase 2, and I know that’s frustrating for those of you who still aren’t back on campus but would like to be. My goal right now is to make sure that we can at least maintain our current capacity — safely — through the summer.
Whether you are working on campus or remotely, though, if you develop COVID-19 symptoms or are presumed or confirmed positive by a healthcare professional, it is imperative that you notify UT’s HealthPoint Occupational Health Program (OHP) immediately. OHP will initiate contact tracing and notify Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). EHS will work with building managers and the relevant PI or research group leader to decontaminate and temporarily isolate research spaces, as needed. Our toolkit has more information and guidelines.
What to Know About On-Campus Asymptomatic Testing
A key indicator that will help us keep on-campus research operations going is the results from UT’s asymptomatic testing pop-up clinics. If you are approved to be on campus during Research Phase 3, then you will receive emails from your college or school leadership inviting you to volunteer for asymptomatic testing lotteries that are organized periodically by UT health professionals. This gives us an early indication of infection within our research community so that UT health professionals can act quickly to notify those who have tested positive, alert any close contacts, and coordinate with EHS.
So far, UT Health Austin and University Health Services have completed two rounds of asymptomatic researcher testing, on June 11 and June 18, and no positive cases were found among researchers working on campus. These sample sizes were small, however, and we need to increase testing — both in frequency and number — if we want to maintain an accurate, reliable view of on-campus infection rates.
To do this, we’re developing a full dataset of researchers currently on campus and their locations, and we’re working closely with UT molecular biologists, physicians, biostatisticians, and epidemiologists to create a rigorous plan to sample larger numbers of researchers working across campus buildings. They’re advising us about the number of asymptomatic tests needed relative to our research population on campus as well as how we should distribute these tests strategically among research buildings and spaces. We are also developing our own testing analysis capacity here on the UT campus.
Once asymptomatic testing is ramped up, we’ll be positioned to move to cohort shift scheduling. This will allow you to bring more researchers back to campus via rotating, two-week cohorts, while maintaining density at 30%–40% at any given time.
New Library Services
For the duration of Research Phase 3, UT Libraries are offering researchers a contactless service to request and pick up library materials that are only available in print. Researchers with a UT ID who identify themselves as having a time-sensitive research need related to promotion & tenure or impending degree completion may submit requests online and arrange for an appointment to pick up materials on the PCL plaza. For more detail, visit the Libraries Services Continuity portal.
New H-1B Visa Proclamation
And finally, you may have heard from Sonia Feigenbaum, senior vice provost for Global Engagement, that the White House has suspended the issuance of H-1B visas to people who do not currently hold a valid H-1B visa and who are outside the U.S. Our recommendation is still that scholars refrain from international travel until entry restrictions are lifted or expire. If you have questions, please contact International Student and Scholar Services for assistance.
If you have any other general questions or concerns, please let your ADR or PI supervisor know.
Sincerely,
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Alison R. Preston, Ph.D.
Interim Vice President for Research
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