Health care workers are rightfully getting a lot of attention for battling the coronavirus. But theres a second front in the war against the virus: science.

As one of the largest science centers in the U.S., San Diego is playing an especially crucial role that involves everything from tracking COVID-19 to the search for a vaccine.

In todays InDepth, the Union-Tribune highlights the work of local researchers and has them describe the moment they realized how bad things might get. Reporter Gary Robbins explains how the story came together.

Q: Did something in particular trigger this story?

A: Ive been very moved by watching Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He has been clearly and calmly explaining the threat posed by COVID-19 and how scientists are responding. There are a lot of scientists like him here, so I turned the spotlight their way.

Q: In what ways are they like him?

A: Theyre tireless, committed and circumspect. A lot of local laboratories are closed to help slow the spread of the virus. Many scientists have set up shop in their living rooms or dens. Some of them answered my emails in the middle of the night or when they could have been spending time with their families. They werent seeking publicity. They were trying to keep people informed. And they werent making outlandish claims.

Q: Did they speak as clearly as Fauci?

A: Unfortunately, few people do. Thats especially true in science where theres a cultural imperative to quantify things to the Nth degree. But with a little coaxing, most people get to the point.

I wasnt sure how far to press scientists. Like the rest of us, they are exhausted and nervous. One researcher said that if a member of his family gets COVID-19 it will be because he unknowingly brought it home. Another told me he was preparing to take his son, who has stage IV cancer, to the hospital for chemotherapy and was worried that he might become infected with COVID-19. We were strangers, and in a nano-second I was speechless.

Q: Have you been able to interview scientists in person?

A: Not for the past couple of weeks, and that only makes sense. But it makes reporting harder. The key to a lot of interviews is being able to read a persons face and body language. It isnt easy to do that over Skype. People look washed out and the audio sounds like your mic was dropped in a fish tank. This is also a drag because I simply like talking to people in person.

Q: Was there a moment that could be described as powerful?

A: Yes. It involved Erica Ollmann Saphire, a virus fighter at the La Jolla Institute. Shes a warm, funny person and a gifted speaker. I asked her if she experienced a gut check moment when she realized how bad things might get. She gave an eloquent response in which she ended by describing COVID-19 as being like a wall of water coming at you, a tsunami. Were going to have to build a ship to get out of it.

Ive learned to stay quiet when people are talking like this. Theyll often deliver a bit more. She did, saying, We must deal with this. We cannot fail.

It was like listening to Churchill implore the British to remain strong when London was being bombed by the Germans during World War II.

The next day, she wanted to tone down her comment a bit. I asked her not to. Much of the public thinks of scientists as unknowable nerds in white lab coats. The opposite is true. And were experiencing an extraordinary moment in which much of the public is listening to scientists.

Fortunately, Saphire cut me some slack on this.

Q: The Union-Tribune recently lost its biotech reporter, Bradley Fikes. Has it been difficult covering the pandemic and response without him?

A: Yes. I miss Bradley. He passed away in November of a heart attack. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of immunology and viruses something that made him a beloved and respected figure among scientists. I could always wave at him and say, Remind me again of the difference between enzymes and proteins. Ive forgotten. When it came to the life sciences, he was a flesh-and-bone version of Google.

Bradley would have greatly enriched our coverage of the coronavirus.

There is a piece of good news to report. Jonathan Wosen, the Union-Tribunes new biotech reporter, begins work on Monday. He earned a doctorate in immunology at Stanford. Like Bradley, hes wicked smart.

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Back story: Profiling the scientists who've entered the fray against COVID-19 - The San Diego Union-Tribune