Research Activity During January 2022 Remote Instruction Period

In response to the evolving situation with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19, UC San Diego has extended the mandatory remote instruction period until the end of January 2022. In-person instruction is scheduled to begin on Monday, January 31, 2022.

During this remote instruction period, research activity will continue; however, all research that can be conducted off-site, should be conducted off-site. In addition, during the remote instruction period, undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars conducting research will not be required to report to campus research sites.

UC San Diego researchers know how critical it is to remain vigilant in keeping labs and personnel healthy. With this in mind, it is important to ensure that all involved with research on campus are compliant with the latest UC San Diego vaccination requirement and continue to:

Screen daily for symptoms / exposure. You can now download a Visitor Symptom Screening Checklist here (PDF)
Wear a well-fitting mask and ensure those in your research program do too;
Test twice weekly if you are not fully vaccinated; and
Consider adding the confidential exposure notification app, CA COVID Notify, to your mobile device.

To faculty, lab managers, and other research leaders: Because research is an essential element of the UC San Diego educational experience, you should make an effort to support students in credit-bearing (honors, thesis, dissertation, independent study, experiential learning) research activity, without pressuring them to work on-site during the remote instruction period. If any member of your research team (student, staff, or postdoc) expresses concern about working on-site during this period, you should work with them to mitigate those concerns, either through mutually agreeable adjustments in on-site activity, or through their working off-site.

To students and postdoctoral scholars: If you have safety concerns about working on-site during this period, you should first discuss them with your PI or lab manager. Please work with them to develop strategies either to mitigate those concerns or to enable you to work off-site during the remote instruction period. If at any time you experience pressure to work on-site despite your concerns, you can get assistance from:

Vice President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: vpequity@gsa.ucsd.edu (assistance for undergraduate and graduate students)
Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA): contact@gsa.ucsd.edu
Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs: https://postdoc.ucsd.edu
Office of Research Affairs: researchrampup@ucsd.edu
Concerns can also be reported to the Return to Learn program at: rtl@ucsd.edu

Sincerely,

Corinne Peek-Asa
Vice Chancellor for Research

Alysson M. Satterlund
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

James Antony
Dean of the Graduate Division

Brian Lattimore
President, Graduate and Professional Student Association

Manu Agni
President, Associated Students