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A participant in the NIH 2019-2020 Medical Research Scholars Program.

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Lessons from teaching about the pandemic in real-time

Covid-19 class taps experts to help students and the public avoid misinformation as the crisis evolves

Just a few months after the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, Alan Grossman was already mulling over an idea for a new class to help people make sense of the virus. As head of MIT’s Department of Biology, he was aware of the key role fundamental research would play in the coming months. From RNA viruses and genomic sequencing to antibodies and vaccines, MIT students and the general public would need reliable scientific information to understand the evolving situation — and discern fact from fiction.