How a Ukrainian scientist in the USA helped prove the importance of masks during a pandemic

Physicist Valentin Stadnitsky was one of the researchers who proved that masks can significantly slow down the spread of SARS-CoV-2. DW talked to him about his work in the USA.

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You don't have to sneeze or cough to spread droplets into the air that can carry the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus—just a normal conversation. This conclusion was confirmed in the USA during an experiment with a laser conducted by a group of scientists The National Institute of Health. One of the scientists in this team is Ukrainian physicist Valentin Stadnitsky.

At the same time, scientists found that the drops are stored in the air for up to eight minutes. The results of the study attracted the attention of world media, becoming another argument in the debate about the importance of using protective masks during the COVID-19 epidemic. In an interview with DW, Stadnitsky spoke about the progress of this experiment and his impressions of working in the United States.

DW: Examining the team you worked for can unravel the rapid spread of coronavirus. How did you manage to get these results?

Valentin Stadnitsky: It all started with the idea of ​​Dr. Adrian Bax, who sought to visualize the droplets of saliva exhaled by a person while speaking, which are too small to be seen with the naked eye. He and Dr. Philip Anfinrud, a colleague in the Laboratory of Chemical Physics (LCP) at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, where I am also a researcher, were thinking about using lasers to image these droplets. That Friday evening, Dr. Anfinrud painted the inside of a cardboard box, cut holes in it, and the next morning began setting up the optics in his laser lab. He took me on the team because I have a lot of experience working with lasers. And before the morning was over we had the apparatus constructed and ready to go. The three of us spent the rest of the weekend recording video and interpreting the resulting material.

Are your findings confirmed by other studies of American or world institutions?

At the time of our work, we were not aware of any published studies that used laser technology to visually demonstrate droplets of saliva entering the air during speaking, although a group of scientists in Japan had published something similar regarding sneezing. Of course, data on the spread of these droplets has been published before, such as one 2019 paper that showed that speaking produces more droplets than breathing, and that speaking loudly increases the spread of those droplets.

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What mask do you personally wear?

Our report showed that simple speaking, even without sneezing and coughing, spreads thousands of potentially dangerous drops in the air, and the use of simple masks, not even N95, significantly prevents this spread. I personally follow the recommendations of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about which masks to wear.

In general, are you afraid of contracting a coronavirus?

It is natural for a person to be afraid of the unknown. But fear doesn't solve problems, it only affects our judgment and ability to move forward. But we can study the problem and understand the risks involved. It is my duty as a scientist to persistently explore something unknown. I use my experience and knowledge acquired over the years to make an analysis of possible risks and benefits. There is a risk of contracting the virus, but I understand the importance of using personal protective equipment and the power of social distancing. With this knowledge, I can reduce the risk and focus on solving other problems - like those outlined in the study.

Before moving to the USA in 2011, you studied at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. What was your path to research in America?

My mother was a chemist and wrote her dissertation at the Kiev National University, and my father was an engineer. But my parents’ aspirations were dashed by the collapse of the Soviet Union - my mother had to give up her hobby and become an accountant in order to feed the family. She always joked that I was her thesis and encouraged my brother and I to pursue our ambitions. For her, our education was a priority. I was interested in mathematics and natural sciences, so I left school with in-depth study of languages ​​and continued my studies at the Kiev Natural Science Lyceum number 145.

I received bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Kyiv National University with honors. But during my last two years at university, I began to think about my next career steps and found it logical for me to pursue a doctoral program. I looked at options for such programs in the UK, Germany, Belgium and the United States. It wasn't an easy task - I had to write a lot of drafts for really convincing motivation letters and take an English exam to convince universities that I was a worthy candidate.

The hard work bore fruit, and I received several invitations to interviews from Europe and several invitations to doctoral programs in the USA. So I ended up at Purdue University in Indiana.

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How is work in the United States different from work in Ukraine, and what would you change in Ukrainian science?

My scientific work in the USA taught me not to think in stereotypes - a team of scientists from different countries and scientific disciplines helped me with this. When I was a student in Ukraine, I always thought that I had to solve every problem myself in order to be able to do good research. But I now understand that outstanding scientific achievements often require bringing experts from different fields into a team working together. My doctoral studies and research work at the National Institutes of Health would not have been possible without collaboration and interaction with scientists from other fields of science.

In Ukraine, the years of underfunding are affected. But we can offer the world very smart, talented and hardworking people who have a serious scientific base. Therefore, it seems to me that cooperation with international scientific communities and universities is the best way for the scientific community in Ukraine. This will give Ukrainian scientists access to the latest equipment and resources in order to test their wonderful ideas as representatives of international teams working on large-scale scientific puzzles, advanced technologies that can improve the quality of human life.

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