Isolationism Will Make Science Less Effective

December 23, 2024
by Mila Rosenthal
Blog

Increasing global scientific cooperation is fundamental to the mission of the International Science Reserve. Effective collaboration will positively impact how we solve global challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global human disaster. But the damage done could have been even worse had the spread of the virus not been countered by vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics, all developed by the medical and bioscience community at breakneck speed. In that success story, the people involved in the response tend to highlight one vital but often publicly overlooked ingredient: global scientific cooperation.

Could we achieve that level of international collaboration again? There are plenty of reasons to worry that we couldn’t.  

First, over the past few years, we have witnessed intensifying economic and political competition between the United States and an increasingly assertive China. This rivalry is being played not just in tariffs, but in increased security restrictions on commercial technology exchanges and scientific collaboration.  

An article by Keisuke Okamura last year in Quantitative Science Studies, the official journal of the international association of researchers who study the metrics of science, analyzed the impact of these tensions on scientific collaboration. Using data from published papers, Okamura found that the United States and China, after rapidly moving closer together for decades, had been moving apart since 2019.

Adding to this seismic shift in global relationships will be the potential impact of the new administration and its “America First” protectionist approach to supply chains, international climate standards, and public health cooperation. This potentially threatens our collective ability to respond to new and unexpected crises, as well as those we know too well. A recent Rand Corporation assessment of Global Catastrophic Risk found higher risk levels for hazards from sudden and severe changes to Earth’s climate, nuclear war, artificial intelligence, and pandemics from natural occurrence or synthetic biology.

Whether it is climate change, the need to build ethical standards for AI, geoengineering, or gene editing— all are science-based challenges that can only be addressed by global level collaboration. Encouragingly, the Okamura paper shows that the overwhelming trend towards international scientific cooperation over the past 50 years has been positive, with scientists from many institutions and countries in multiple scientific disciplines routinely working together.

It is crucial to the future of science that we develop new ways of being proactive, operating cohesively to promote solutions, safety, and stability across borders even as official relationships between states become more difficult. At the International Science Reserve (ISR) at The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy), we have been promoting pathways for scientific cooperation, building a community that I believe can help function as a communal safeguard in the face of the threat posed by the scientific isolationist model.

Tens of thousands of scientists from more than 100 countries have signed up to the ISR network to be ready to work together in response to future cross-border crises. We help train and prepare scientists and experts on how to handle disasters, crises, and instability—and how to identify and get access to additional resources when needed.

Doomsday Scenarios

Since it is our job to think about doomsday scenarios, let’s talk through one.

Another pandemic hits. Politics— whether institutional or governmental have blocked researchers and medical professionals from different countries from talking, collaborating, and sharing data. Such lack of collaboration results in it becoming harder for us to understand why some regions of the world are being hit harder than others, because we lack the data to understand why. Meanwhile, scientists in other regions have the answer, but they are not sharing it. Lives are lost, economies wrecked, and we are all less safe. This is obviously a scary scenario.

The ISR was developed with the express goal of circumventing the barriers to collaboration. We help researchers talk to each other to build trust and share ideas through our digital hub. We develop games and scenarios to help them better prepare for decision-making in their own contexts when crises hit.

Customized Digital Games

This year, for example, we partnered with the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS) to build customized digital games to test how policymakers make decisions based on evolving scientific information during a crisis. We run scenarios on different kinds of crises—from extreme heat, mega wildfires, and floods to crop failures and new pathogen outbreaks—and we have explored and increased access to the data modelling and analysis tools that researchers need to respond to those. We also celebrate the work of ISR network members and uplift the stories of those who understand firsthand science’s role in global crisis response and help the public to better understand why this matters.

In our hypothetical scenario, the ISR is one of the spaces where scientists are communicating, generating support for each other, and sharing insights. They then can take that research and information back to their local contexts to strengthen their response. Of course, this scenario is hypothetical and high-level and perhaps idealistic. But at this moment, we need a clear vision to work together across borders to reduce harm and save lives.

We can’t predict what will happen next. Science can’t tell us what the day-to-day decisions of world leaders will be. But what we do know is global problems can only be effectively solved through sustained scientific collaboration. To achieve that we need to turn outward, not just inward.

Mila Rosenthal, PhD is the Executive Director of the International Science Reserve

Ready, Set, Respond: How Playing an Outbreak Simulation Game Helps Scientists Prepare for the Next Pandemic

October 3, 2024
by Mila Rosenthal
Blog

The International Science Reserve’s new “serious game” puts players in the hot seat to test their decision-making skills.

Since COVID-19 hit in 2020, there have been hundreds of articles in journals and mainstream news outlets analyzing the shortcomings in the global response to the pandemic, and how we can learn from our collective mistakes. One of those articles last year, an op-Ed by Bill Gates for The New York Times, called on the world to think about what we can do now to better prepare the world for future outbreaks.  

His advice? Prepare for outbreaks like firefighters tackle blazes: run drills, have dedicated teams of volunteers on standby, and build on existing expertise across institutions and specialties. The International Science Reserve (ISR), an initiative of The New York Academy of Sciences, has been working to build this exact model.

We have spent the last few years cultivating a reserve of over 11,000 scientists across 100 countries in nearly three dozen specialties who want to prepare and act when the next big crisis hits. We support them for future crises by building tools that break down borders and help them collaborate before the fire starts.

Gaming for Good

This August, we proudly launched a new digital game that simulates a pathogen outbreak, just like a fire drill. The Pathogen Outbreak Game, available with free membership to the ISR, puts our network in the hot seat. In the game scenario, players act as a public health director as an unknown pathogen emerges. The game asks you to consider: What would you do differently if we experienced a crisis of the same scale and scope? What decisions would you make if you could call the shots during the next pandemic?

Developed in partnership with the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS), the game challenges players to navigate an evolving, hypothetical public health crisis, evaluating new information that is shared as the game progresses. When a crisis hits, there are complex decisions that leaders must make to protect people and reduce the impact on society and the environment. To simulate real-world situations, players are presented with dynamic information and surveillance data about an unknown pathogen outbreak.

In a series of game rounds, players are asked to practice their decision-making skills using data to identify outbreak trends and better prepare for and reduce the public health threat. This trailer demonstrates the basics of the Pathogen Outbreak Game:

The Next Pandemic and Building a “Culture of Readiness”

So, why games? Our research found that simulating real-life scenarios or drills can improve the capacity to collaborate, communicate, and make informed decisions in high-pressure crisis situations. Gamification also makes the experience of learning crisis preparedness skills more engaging for participants, encouraging wider participation and contributing towards a culture of readiness.

Our gamification-related literature review found that points, badges, and leadership boards are the best way to turn these drills into games. After they complete the game exercise, players are then encouraged to discuss their experiences with fellow scientists and experts in the ISR’s network and promote their achievements through digital badging on social media.

We do not know when another outbreak will happen, so in the meantime we need to quickly learn and grow from our mistakes, and better collaborate across disciplines and borders to save lives and reduce harm. The digital pathogen game can help build a “culture of readiness” and accustom policymakers to assessing different sources of scientific information to make decisions. It can also help scientists explore how their research could be prioritized and adapted when most needed. Together, we could build a more resilient future, one game at a time.

Are You Ready for the Challenge?

Ready to jump in? Then join us and play the ISR’s new Pathogen Outbreak Game! Earn badges, climb the leaderboard, and be recognized as a top player and top contributor in a global scientific community.  

Not a member of this inclusive and impactful community? Join the ISR today.

Partnering with IBM to put advanced data and AI tools in the hands of crisis researchers

January 9, 2023
by Mila Rosenthal
Blog

As part of our ongoing mission, the International Science Reserve (ISR) works to facilitate access during a crisis to specialized scientific and technical resources from public and private institutions. Over the last year, the ISR has interviewed dozens of members of our network – from Trinidad to Argentina – to hear directly from them about what they need to more effectively do their jobs.  

Access to real-time, complex, and global data sets and modeling was often top of their lists. For example, if a Turkish wildfire researcher in hydrology is collaborating with a soil agronomist across the border in Greece in responding to regional wildfire disasters, the team needs stronger data resources. More complex data will help them to understand wildfire spread related to water and land use patterns and it can contribute to advance plans to limit future damage across borders. 

IBM’s Geospatial Discovery Network

This is where the ISR can help fill in the gaps. Scientists face multiple barriers to conducting applied research in times of crisis – especially in contexts and countries where funding is inconsistent and advanced data resources are limited. IBM and the International Science Reserve are partnering to increase access to specialized, curated data and analytics during global crises. This first-of-its-kind partnership will help the international scientific community in responding quickly and effectively to crises, such as climate-related disasters. 

IBM will offer its Geospatial Discovery Network (GDN) – a set of data and information discovery and modeling technologies designed to anticipate environmental disruption and manage risk – to support the ISR’s scientific network in addressing the worst impacts of disasters, such as damage to people, communities, and livelihoods from heatwaves, wildfires and flooding. GDN’s data resources originate from IBM’s Environmental Intelligence Suite, and include hundreds of geodata sets from sources like satellite imagery, to which IBM applies analytics and AI for modeling. 

We know that access to this type of data works. For nearly a decade, IBM has been helping businesses improve sustainability and manage the negative impacts of the changing climate, including: 

IBM and the ISR plan to offer access to the IBM Geospatial Discovery Network to ISR’s network of researchers, at no cost, through a customized, fast-tracked process. When the ISR declares a crisis, scientists in the network will be able to apply to use the tools for projects that involve transnational research collaboration.  In the coming months, we will offer scientists in our network the chance to explore crisis scenarios and simulations in which they could use IBM’s GDN tools and to practice submitting proposals through the new application process     

We at the ISR are grateful to IBM for stepping up to reduce the red tape and break down borders to increase access to high-quality data and modeling tools for more researchers. 

Three experts’ takeaways on gearing up for the next global crisis 

August 18, 2022
by Mila Rosenthal
BlogCrisis

Since our launch in early 2022, the International Science Reserve (ISR) has rapidly expanded a network of scientists who are poised to respond to the next big crisis. The ISR aims to take action on crises that are complex, international, and where science and technology can effectively respond.  

The ISR works in two ways, one through preparing for crisis by helping scientists in the community practice how they would respond during a crisis and understand what resources they need. And two, through a coordinated response to a declared crisis where the ISR will add to existing networks and support access to specialized human and technological resources. 

With these goals in mind, the ISR brings together colleagues from a range of disciplines around the world for discussions to learn from each other in a semi-monthly webinar series: Science Unusual: R&D for Global Crisis Response.  

The first webinar in this series was “Science Unusual: Gearing up for the Next Global Crisis.” The recording is now available on-demand through the New York Academy of Science. I was honored to moderate the discussion, and our esteemed panelists included:  

  • Dr. Fulya Aydin-Kandemir, Hydropolitics Association at Ankara & Akdeniz University (Turkey)  
  • Dr. Lorna Thorpe, Professor and Director of the Division of Epidemiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine in the Department of Population Health (United States of America) 
  • Alex Wakefield, Senior Policy Adviser, Royal Society (United Kingdom) 

It’s hard to narrow down all the lessons I gleaned from this panel, but I have three big takeaways on what the panelists learned through their own experience preparing for and responding to crises in public health and climate change.  

1) Scientists Need Stronger Networks to Connect and Coordinate Crisis Response 

Alex Wakefield began her career in science policy to help governments use evidence and science to make stronger policy decisions. When the COVID-19 crisis hit in 2020, the UK government needed scientific evidence – but like many governments around the world – they didn’t have the luxury of time to do long-term research. Ms. Wakefield worked under the government’s chief scientist to run scientific advisory groups that convened experts to quickly provide evidence for policymaking decisions. That mechanism existed before COVID-19 to help deal with emergencies, like major flooding events and public health emergencies, and Ms. Wakefield believes it was a real advantage of the UK’s response that this was already in place.  

Dr. Lorna Thorpe added that the energy of scientists wanting to get involved locally, nationally, and globally was one of the most important components of the COVID-19 response. She saw a robust convening and collaboration among institutions and researchers in New York City’s response, and she believes that the ISR can play a big role in facilitating these connections during the next major crisis.  

2) Open Data Sharing is Essential to Effective Analysis During a Crisis  

Dr. Fulya Aydin-Kandemir shared her own story of facilitating research during massive wildfires in Greece and Turkey in 2021. In her view, crisis research needs stronger access to public data, in her case satellite imagery, in order to respond faster and effectively to natural disasters across borders. That way, she could share her results with stakeholders, like firefighters, to help them understand real-time distribution of fires and how to stop outbreaks that can damage communities and ecosystems. 

Dr. Thorpe added that we need more coordination of networks that allow research institutions to work together, no matter what their focus issues are, on issues like data sharing.  Access to data like satellite imagery is not only important to issues of wildfires caused by climate change, but can also be important for real-time public health issues, like the urban heat effect or migration patterns. 

3) To Build Public Trust, Leadership and Communication is Key 

Research shows that the public will generally trust the government to do the right thing in a crisis. However, if there is ambiguity in leadership, Dr. Thorpe shared that she has seen the public lose trust – which makes it harder for technical leaders, like public health researchers, to do their job.  

Dr. Thorpe reinforced how important great leadership is in a time of crisis, especially among local officials like mayors or health officials. During COVID-19, there was ambiguity around data that mired the United States and caused delays. She believes that some of that can be attributed to the erosion of institutions in America, but it is really about trusting your local leaders to make the right choices. 

Ms. Wakefield believes that another way to build public trust ahead of an emergency is to consult with the public about what types of crisis responses are acceptable. Now at the Royal Society in the UK, she recently held a public dialogue series on different emergencies, like flooding and pandemics. The researchers found that the public had an expectation around government use of data – and they expressed concerns about when the emergency ends, what the data will be used for. The researchers plan to take these results and advocate for setting up stronger processes and policies for future responses.  


Do you want to watch the whole webinar? Here are three steps to rewatch Science Unusual on-demand:  

  • Register for the webinar using this link 
  • Then, click “Join Event” 
  • After logging in, select the “Schedule” menu, or the grid menu (small squares) on mobile, located at the top of your screen, then click “On Demand” 

Researchers are invited to join our science community - a borderless global network of leading scientists from around the world. Join the community today to stay updated and learn how you can participate.