How did a young Columbia researcher organize hundreds of young scientists to combat coronavirus in a matter of days? It all started with a call for help sterilizing hospital masks. The overwhelming response he received laid the foundations for a veritable army of volunteers, called Columbia Researchers Against COVID-19 (CRAC). 

This episode of Lab in the Time of Coronavirus follows the evolution of CRAC and introduces some of the many projects supported by this grassroots organization – from making use of its members’ scientific expertise to catalogue COVID samples for research studies, to drawing on their enthusiasm to wash scrubs and keep healthcare workers safe.