"As the COVID-19 pandemic fades into memory, it is essential that the senior scientists making career-defining decisions on hiring, tenure, and funding for junior academics do not forget the impact the pandemic has had. The financial and logistical effects of the pandemic should be documented as much as is possible, in annual reviews and mid-tenure checkpoints. It is important that institutional tenure and promotion committees develop holistic and transparent review guidelines for evaluating pandemic-affected academics and that they carefully monitor success rates of attaining tenure for this cohort. We recommend that tenure dossiers should include a statement from the candidate and their chair documenting the specific effects of the pandemic on their lab and that this document be seriously discussed as part of deliberations on each case."

Citation: Lowe-Power T, Dyson L, Polter AM (2021) A generation of junior faculty is at risk from the impacts of COVID-19. PLoS Biol 19(5): e3001266. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001266