Reflections on Navigating a Pandemic: Perspectives from the Chemical Biology Community.

The early-career researchers showcased in this ChemBioTalents special collection, and many others who have established their independent scientific careers over the last three years, have experienced a unique set of circumstances. The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated new forms of communication and interpersonal interactions: From online interviews and virtual networking to relocating and establishing labs during a pandemic, we faced many challenges, but also unexpected opportunities. In this perspective, we reflect on this unique and formative time through personal anecdotes and viewpoints, trying to capture diverse experiences from the Chemical Biology community and beyond. We have tried to get a broad and varied set of perspectives, however, the selection is biased towards researchers who were able to start their independent careers. Almost every person who was interviewed mentioned that they were overall quite lucky. Many early career researchers were more negatively impacted in their career options by the pandemic, reasons for which are manifold - some had to take care of family members, while others were not able to cross borders, were unable to finish experiments for publications, or were negatively impacted by the low number of open faculty positions. Although we tried to include balanced views from various career stages and many parts of the world, we acknowledge that those stories are not captured in this editorial.