Editor’s Note

Spring is a time for blooming. Flowers do it naturally, but sometimes people need a bit of a push. As we move on from the dark days of winter and the pandemic, it is time for us all to decide what we need and go for it. If your life is on a good path, keep going forward but if you find yourself struggling more than you should, maybe we can help with this month’s optimistic look at Reinventions – Local Realities of Turning Lemons into Lemonade.

As we work to reinvent ourselves in this new era, Princeton Perspectives shares the stories of others that have done so. In this month’s Pulse of Princeton video segment, we hear from locals that have seized the opportunities before them and used them to propel forward. They are a great inspiration!

We also share with you the full story of one Princetonian who found herself out of work during the COVID shutdown. In Reinventing Myself with a Pandemic Pivot, our guest writer shares her journey into a new career, using tools from her long-time trade.

Sometimes the pandemic puts restrictions on us that we can’t easily change. But we can adapt. You Don’t Have Leave the Princeton Area to Experience the World enlightens us to how much we are surrounded by opportunities and inspirations from abroad, and we don’t need to wait for the borders to open to explore them.

Another aspect of reinventions is giving something a second life. Whether you’ve been clearing out your closets year-long or are just getting into your spring cleaning, you will find there are things you no longer need. Why not pass them along? We share many options in Repurpose Your Goods for the Benefit of our Community.

And that natural blooming I just spoke about, it will happen whether you observe it or not, but sometimes being there or helping it flourish has incredible rewards. In Participating in the Evolutions of Nature Helps Us Evolve, Too we learn about one of our local outdoor treasures, and the benefits it brings.

The year has been a long and trying one, and if you managed to reinvent yourself months ago, good for you! If you are still waiting to do so, there’s no time like the present.

In this difficult year of COVID, we’ve also dealt with other major blows. Biases, long standing amongst us, have been further perpetrated by some, no longer tolerated by others. In the May issue of Princeton Perspectives, we’ll take a look how at our local community has coped, historically and in the present, and what we can all do to move forward to a better place.

I know I am coming out of hibernation excited about the sunshine and warmer weather. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I’m excited to get there. We thank you for helping us celebrate our first birthday last month and are grateful that you enjoy our stories and pass them along, helping Princeton Perspectives continue to blossom and grow!

Pulse of Princeton: How have you reinvented yourself or given a belonging a new purpose?

We’d love to include YOUR perspective! If you’d like to contribute a video for next month’s Pulse of Princeton, click here and provide your name and email address to be contacted.

You Don’t Have to Leave the Princeton Area to Experience the World

Do you remember when people used to jump on planes and explore other countries? The return to post-pandemic international travel is starting, but even for the willing, there are restrictions. Many international borders remain closed and if you can get there, many sites, stores and eateries are shut to tourists.

So, it’s time to reinvent how we travel. If you just want to get away and relax, many beach sites are open down South, in Mexico and the Caribbean. But if you want to explore the many facets of foreign cultures – luckily you live in Princeton! The global make-up of our community provides us with opportunities to enjoy the many wonders of each continent beyond North America, from right here at home!

ASIA

There are many beautiful countries sitting above and alongside the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Immigrants and descendants from most of the 48 countries that make up the Asian continent reside in the greater-Princeton area and have brought with them a taste from home.

Literally, to taste the spices and flavors of India, you don’t even need to leave Princeton. There are numerous establishments in town. Northern Indian cuisine, that of the original northwestern frontier including Pakistan, is served at places like Princeton Shopping Center’s Cross Culture.

The restaurant, started by PJ Singh in 2010, offers the most common Indian favorites, including meats, marinated then barbecued and cooked in different kind of curries. Their most popular dish, chicken tikka masala, is a dish known throughout the world.

“People living in Princeton are world travelers, they have traveled a lot and they know their cuisine,” states Singh. “Most people can name these dishes, even if you ask American people, they don’t have to see the menu to know what chicken korma or tandoori chicken are. Most of our clientele know what to ask for, but if someone is new, to make them comfortable, I ask about their spice level.”

Singh says many not familiar with Indian food think of it as extremely spicy, but he works hard to make fresh food to order, based on your specific spice tolerance. Today, COVID has the restaurant serving take-out only, but when it opens up inside, you can enjoy your meal with the ambience of Indian music as well.

For a more vegetarian focus, one can experience Southern Indian food at places like Chennai Chimney on Chambers Street. The restaurant describes its regional cuisine as “a blend of all six different tastes including sweet, salt, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent” and aims to take a contemporary approach to its authentic food.

All around Princeton it is easy to find Asian restaurants to enjoy some Pad Thai (Thailand), Fried Rice (China), Kimchi (Korea), Pho (Vietnam), Sushi (Japan) and other Asian specialties. If you prefer to make a meal yourself, all kinds of Asian flavors and foods can be found at Asian Food Markets, located nearby in Plainsboro. The market was started in 1992 with a desire to bring all varieties of Asian groceries together in one place.

“Our products come from Thailand or Philippines and China. Some come from Hong Kong, Korea as well. And I think most stable during COVID are the Korean and Japanese products,” shares Irene Yan, Asia Food Markets’ Training Manager.

Delays of shipments leaving Asia and arriving in America have affected the inventory and pricing this past year, but Asian Food Markets continues to offer fresh ingredients and even prepared hot foods with tastes from all over the continent. If you’re new to this type of cooking, don’t be shy. Their customer service desk can provide advice, or if you prefer, their hot food department will even cook up store-bought fresh ingredients for you!

Asian Food Markets can also help you enjoy many of the Asian festivals. Decorations, like for Dragon Boat Festival coming up in June, can be found there as well.

Beyond the food, one of the best parts of traveling abroad is the souvenirs, that allow us to bring a bit culture back home. To experience Japan, one need only travel as far as Princeton’s Palmer Square and walk around stores like Miya Table and Home. The owners buy from small “mom and pop” businesses in Japan to offer everything from tableware and textile products to tea kettles and fortune cats.

“Our tagline is ‘Bringing the best of Japan home’ so we do take the idea of bringing great products from Japan home to the U.S. and into your homes very seriously,” explains Heidi Moon, Co-Owner of Miya Inc. “Pre-COVID, my husband and I took turns going on buying trips to Japan a couple of times per year. We attend trade shows and meet with manufacturing partners to find the best selection that we can. We always look for things that definitely have a Japanese aesthetic but has a western sensibility.”

Miya, Inc. is a 3rd generation Asian American business that started in New York City in the 1930s. It has evolved and grown over the years, but has stayed true to its roots, importing goods from Japan that can be enjoyed here in America.

“We hope our customers can feel how special each piece is in our shop. They can take home a bit of Japanese design, simplicity, and humor,” adds Moon.

Surrounding yourself with foreign goods is one way to immerse yourself in a culture, being in the middle of live entertainment is another. Every year, the IndoAmerican Fair aims to make you feel like you are in India! Held at Mercer County Park, with performances, clothing and of course food, the fair was last held in 2019, due to COVID. There is still hope for it to return this August, but the fair attracts large crowds and event permission for this year has not yet been granted.

EUROPE

Like the IndoAmerican Fair, the Mercer County Italian American Festival brought cultural presentations, food and games to our area each year. Despite COVID putting a hold on such festivals, we are lucky the Princeton area has numerous other connections to the 44 countries that make up Asia’s neighboring continent of Europe.

Simply walking around town can transport you to places like Greece, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Have you ever heard the bells while playing a round of golf at Springdale? Those are sounds of the low countries of Europe, a Carillon made of bronze bells cast in England, France and The Netherlands. Installed as a gift in 1927 then renovated and rededicated in 1993, The Carillon or The Class of 1892 Bells ring from the Princeton University Graduate College’s Cleveland Tower. They are quiet now for graduate exam period but beginning May 16th you can bring a lawn chair and sit nearby to hear them played on Sundays at 1pm by the University Carillonneur through June and by nationally known artists during the summer concert series July 4th through Labor Day.

Further into town, you can feel like you’re walking amongst buildings of Europe with the architectural influences of the Greek at Nassau Presbyterian Church or the transcendence of the English in the former Princeton University dormitory, Lower Pyne, now home to Hamilton Jewelers at Nassau and Witherspoon Streets. If you cross into the Princeton University campus, many of the buildings have a Gothic style similar to those you’d find on the campuses of Oxford or Cambridge Universities in England.

There are also local places to immerse yourself in European culture. Though currently closed to the public due to COVID, there is hope you can soon stroll through the Zimmerli Art Museum to appreciate over 22,000 objects that make up its Russian and Soviet nonconformist art collection including paintings, sculptures and other decorative works. Located nearby, at Rutgers University, there is also a strong presence of 19th century French, ancient Greek and Roman art at the museum. Until the doors open again, you can browse the collections online here.

If you’re yearning for more from Italy, you can search for favorite delicacies at Gennaro’s Italian Market in Kingston. Owner Gennaro Costabile opened it in 2014 to bring tastes of Italy to Central NJ.

“We have everything from specialty raviolis, homemade gelatos and sausage to prepared foods like lasagnas and chicken francaise. Every day we make Italian pastries like sfogliatella, a traditional dessert from Naples,” details Costabile. “It’s like a clamshell. A lot of people aren’t familiar with it, so we tell people it’s cannoli’s sister. Once you taste it, you’ll want another.”

In addition to its homemade fare, Gennaro’s imports Italian olive oils, plum tomatoes and cheeses to sell in the market, as well as Italian espresso machines and espresso coffees that serve to customers. And Italian favorites are cooked up, along with international staples from places like Spain, Mexico, Germany and France at Casa Gennaro, the neighboring house-turned restaurant he created to make you feel like you’re a guest in his home.

“Casa means home in Italian, and that’s a place you feel like you are home for dinner,” Costabile shares. “It’s not just about the food, which is fantastic, but it’s about feeling at home. If you’re comfortable, your dining experience is unique, and you can’t wait to come back.”

Local Greek, which describes itself as “your place to gather with family, friends and neighbors to share simple dishes, big flavors, and new-old tradition,” aims to do something similar since it opened in 2017.

“Our philosophy is Greek hospitality. To make them feel welcome, like when they walk in the door that they aren’t in Princeton anymore, they are in Greece,” describes Marios Antoniou, Manager of Local Greek. “That’s been our philosophy no matter what. With COVID shutting down things, I think it shows up even more.”

So perhaps the pandemic hasn’t put a damper on everything. In fact, it hasn’t kept people from trying even more of Europe’s cultural cuisine, stateside. You can have Escargots at French restaurant Kristine’s on Witherspoon Street, Hungarian Goulash in Ewing at Barbara’s Restaurant, The Landing offers up some German fare like schnitzel in Hillsborough and you can pick up your favorite desires from Eastern Europe at Super Delikatesy – Polish Groceries and Deli in Lawrenceville.

AFRICA

If you’ve been lucky enough to travel to Africa, you may have experienced falafel – a signature dish of the Middle East region. Though you can’t easily go there today, you can enjoy some authentic cuisine right now on Witherspoon Street.

The original Mamoun’s Falafel (which opened in New York City’s Greenwich Village) was one of the first middle eastern eateries in the United States! Their chickpea-based falafel, offered in Princeton since 2015, was first sold by Mamoun Chater’s grandfather.

“Falafel is a staple in the Middle East, so he knew his mother’s recipe was really good and he fine-tweaked it,” explains Chater, who oversees the Princeton operations today.

Falafel recipes vary, depending on what part of the Middle East you’re from. For example, Syrians enjoy a base of chickpeas, in Egypt falafel is made of fava beans and some Lebanese recipes call for a mix of both fava beans and chickpeas. Mamoun’s hopes to transport your taste buds to that region with its signature recipe, using imported spices and natural ingredients.

“We use a traditional falafel recipe of chickpeas, garlic, onions, a special spice blend,” details Chater. “Our falafel is a vibrant green because we have a healthy ratio of parsley in there. That’s how you can tell 9 times out of 10 someone is eating a falafel from Mamoun’s.”

If you were to travel to the landlocked country of Ethiopia, located near the eastern edge of Africa, you would find the original home of the coffee plant. Locally, places like Small World Coffee, provide an opportunity to sample their exports. There you can buy a bag of the floral scented Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Kochere beans and create a brew with a lemony flavor. The beans stem from the region of Yirgacheffe, one of three popular Ethiopian regions for growing coffee.

After you’ve had your food and drink, you can immerse yourself in some African culture while exploring the African art collection at the Princeton University Art Museum. The works of female African artists and their influences in the culture are celebrated there through pottery, textiles, baskets and beaded pieces. Until the new museum space opens in 2024, the University’s galleries are closed to visitors, but for now you can explore this exhibit online.

AUSTRALIA

Australia is a continent not well-represented in nearby shops or restaurants, but you can still experience its culture from here. Do you happen to have a didgeridoo from a previous trip to Australia? If you want to learn how to play this Aboriginal wind instrument, you can do so online right from home! Free video tutorials are available from the Didge Project – you can even purchase a didgeridoo through their online store or pick-up at their Brooklyn brick-and-mortar location.

Chances are, you’ve enjoyed some beverages from the Australian continent, and didn’t even know it! That famous blue can, Fosters Lager, stems from Australia and is sold locally at stores like Public Wine, Beer and Spirits on Witherspoon Street. If wine is more your style, New Zealand’s largest family-owned wine producer, Delegat’s Wine Estate, makes a line that is sold in Princeton at Bottle King. Oyster Bay wines come from the area of Marlborough Sounds, located on New Zealand’s South Island. Bottle King sells their Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

One used to be able to purchase some products from New Zealand at Landau on Nassau Street, but the store unfortunately closed during the pandemic. However, if you want Australian souvenirs or you’re craving some Vegemite, there is an American-run site that sells Australian goods called AussieFoodExpress.com. Other specialties like Tim Tams and even fresh meat pies and can be shipped to your home in less than a week!

SOUTH AMERICA

One of the sad realities of the pandemic is that is has caused many of us to become more sedate. Fortunately, you can get your body moving and experience some South American culture at Fred Astaire Dance Studios. The Argentine Tango, which originated out of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, is a partner dance with more of an improvisational style than ballroom tango. The Brazilian Samba, with its roots in West African and Brazilian traditions, stems from Rio de Janeiro. Both movements can be learned through Fred Astaire Dance Studios, either in-person at their Princeton Shopping Center location, online through free video lessons or with private streaming lessons.

Dancing can make you thirsty, so after your lesson why not stop by Sakrid Coffee and try one of its Colombian brews?

“Right now, we have coffees available from Burundi & Ethiopia (Africa), Mexico and Colombia (Central & South America). Some time ago we had a Papua New Guinea coffee (Indonesia),” offers Jonathan Haley, co-founder of Sakrid Coffee Roasters. “Those three areas represent the three primary growing regions for coffee in the world. We also combine these coffees and brew them as one coffee (known as a blend).”

Most of these beans are purchased through cooperatives. However, not too long ago, Haley’s business partner, Serge Picard, traveled with a team to Peru to sample some beans himself. This trip offered tastings straight from the Andes Mountains, including naturally farmed beans from El Cautivo.

“We named the company Sakrid because of that moment when you inhale the first aromas and taste the first hints of transcendent beans. All coffee lovers have had that Moment With a Great Cup, when the outside world slows down and the java experience takes control of your senses,” Sakrid Coffee Roasters describes, as they tasted the El Cautivo on their trip. “Now imagine that ‘Sakrid moment’ in a mountain hut.”

That experience can now be enjoyed here in Princeton, too. You can purchase a bag of these full-bodied beans, which bring about notes of plum and honeydew, directly at their Nassau Street store or online.

Down Nassau Street from Sakrid Coffee is Say Cheez – which will be home to the kitchen of the virtual restaurant, Empanada Station beginning May 1, 2021. While there is debate about the origin of Empanadas, there is no question that some delicious varieties come from Argentina and Chile. You can try a more traditional type, made with beef or chicken with an array of side sauce options or go for a modern version like the ‘Buffalo Bill’ with seasoned chicken, blue cheese, marinara and buffalo hot sauce. All Empanada Station orders will be taken exclusively online and delivered through services including UberEats, Grubhub, Snackpass and DoorDash. Until the ghost kitchen opens, a more limited selection of fresh empanadas is available at Say Cheez.

If you’re craving other South American cuisine, Venezuelan options are available for takeout from Casdeluna on Chestnut Avenue in Trenton.

ANTARCTICA

Perhaps there is one continent with little to offer from within the confines of New Jersey, and that’s Antarctica. But there is a piece of it here! A research team at Princeton University has been studying ice samples taken from the continent, believed to be 2 million years old!

And, you can access an expedition – a virtual one – through Quark Expeditions 360° Virtual Reality Antarctic Experience with the Quark Antarctic VR app on your mobile device, tablet or computer. You’ll be able to see penguins, seals and whales in their natural habitats amongst ice blue glaciers. If you prefer to wait and see these sites in person, there are cruises to Antarctica booking for January 2022.

Beyond Antarctica, many countries around the world now offer virtual experiences, some live. With groups like Beeyonder and Tours by Locals you can sign up for livestream tours where a guide walks you through the streets in realtime, introducing you to the sights and sounds of their hometown, while answering your questions.

If you prefer to speak with people, locally, who come from other countries, consider joining a group like the YWCA Newcomers & Friends. This community of 179 people has members from 14 from countries outside the US. Through social coffees, guest speakers and special interest groups, they gather and share. One such group, Global Insights, allows members to “travel” together. Their monthly Zoom presentations have taken members to Greenland, Russia, Faroe Islands, Portugal and more.

Until foreign countries open up for travel, we’ll have to continue to reinvent how we visit them. Thankfully we have so many options to enjoy cultures and tastes from far away, right here at home.

Repurpose Your Goods for the Benefit of our Community

I’ve long had a problem with getting rid of things. I’m not a hoarder, but I like to know that when my family is done with something it goes to someone else that needs or wants it. I once spent hours finding all the parts to my son’s old toy, putting it together so that another little child could enjoy it. Then I watched, as the donation truck driver picked up my donations, threw them into the back of his truck and the toy pieces scattered everywhere, rendering the toy useless. Ever since, I have chosen to donate locally, where I can hand-deliver my things to help ensure they have the chance to be reused by someone else.

Repurposing your goods rather than throwing them out not only helps our environment but helps our community. And, it is tax season. If you choose to donate, those write-offs could help you, too. If you’re like me, you’ve spent the better part of the pandemic cleaning out rooms and closets, but you don’t know who is accepting goods or what they need. Though some COVID restrictions have been put in place, there are still many local ways give your items a second life.

CONSIGNNMENT SHOPS

Consignment is a great option for people who either need to get a little something back for their purchases or who want to. Princeton proper happens to be home to at least three consignment shops. When you consign, you drop off your goods in hopes that they will be sold to someone else. Once sold, you collect a portion of that revenue. In addition, most consignment shops also donate to charity. So, there are two chances for your items to benefit someone else.

You can “give your fine clothing new life,” as Princeton Consignment describes it, by making an appointment to drop off your goods. The Spring Street store was opened by Beth Censits in 2018.

“It’s a really fun and rewarding business to be in in these days of fast fashion, because you know someone will give the garment extra life and hopefully find something that they love,” says Censits. “Every garment is acceptable if it is clean and in good shape and it has a place in one’s wardrobe. That covers a lot of bases from classic, elegant, biker, punk, hippy, designer…. anything that ‘gives joy’ to borrow of phrase.”

The condition of your clothes, what season it’s for and how it compares to what is already for sale in the store are considered when accepting items for consignment. At Princeton Consignment, women’s and men’s clothing, shoes and accessories are consigned for a 2-month period, after which they’re donated to local charities, including Dress for Success.

Nearly New Shop on Nassau Street has been in our community for 76 years. Once owned by Princeton Day School, it was taken over by Toni Maher in 2012 and she has seen a real shift in business recently.

“Middle School and High School students make up a huge part of our clientele now that thrifting is cool and sustainable and better for the environment. During the pandemic we have noticed that our regular elderly clients are still hesitant to come in. Our regular lunchtime clients have not been in due to them working from home,” explains Maher. “With the nice weather approaching, people being vaccinated, students on campus, thrifting and sustainability, we are excited for the future of Nearly New Shop!”

You can drop off your donations during store hours and reap a 50/50 split once they are sold. Proceeds from Nearly New Shop are donated to the Princeton Day School Scholarship Fund and any unsold items are donated to charities including The Rescue Mission of Trenton and Vietnam Veterans of America.

You can also consign your clothes at Greene Street, which started as a single shop in Pennsylvania in 1997. Its Nassau Street location is now of seven shops located around New Jersey and greater Philadelphia. Here shoppers can find men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories from mid to high-end designers at a portion of their initial cost. Greene Street historically partners with or donates to many charities located near its stores.

If you have items to pass along that could help others raising a family, Just Between Friends (JBF) pop-up consignment sale offers a chance for you to consign what you’re done with and shop for what you still need. There are 150 of these franchise consignment sales around the country, and JBF Mercer County is happening April 23-25 at the Robbinsville Fieldhouse.

“Many of our toys, clothes, shoes, games, puzzles etc. are under $5. Books are usually $1 or $2,” explains Jennifer Grant, Event Coordinator/Owner JBF Western Gloucester County and Mercer County. “I remember a woman who once thanked me because she bought Ugg boots and a Northface jacket for her daughter for $20. She said the kids were making fun of her at school and she was teary eyed because she was able to afford them at our sale.”

The sale offers anything ranging from what a young baby would need to what a mother could benefit from. So if you’re looking to pass along play tables, strollers, clothes & shoes (sized from infant to Juniors/Young Men and maternity) you can create an account and tag items for sale until the April 22nd drop off date and then get a free ticket to shop the sale, which is working hard to ensure safety for everyone this year.

“We have timed tickets all weekend to keep the capacity limited and spaced out. Everyone must wear a mask. Our aisles will be spaced out and we will use all 60,000 square feet of the fieldhouse (we usually only use half). We will have a sanitizing station and all bags and rolling carts will be sanitized between users,” says Grant.

DONATE CLOTHING AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS TO CHARITY

In addition to changing the way many used items are sold, the COVID pandemic has also affected collection. While some area charities have temporarily stopped accepting certain residential donations, there are still many local options.

Gently used clothing can be donated to Rescue Mission of Trenton and four donation boxes are located around Princeton, at Tenacre Foundation on Great Road, Educational Testing Center (ETS) on Rosedale Road, D&R Greenway Land Trust on Preservation Place and in Princeton University Parking Lot 23, located off Faculty Road. A clothing donation dropbox for Jewish Family & Children’s Services can be found in the parking lot of The Jewish Center on Nassau Street and The Salvation Army has one on Meadow Road. You can also bring your goods directly to their store and donation center on Route 33 in Mercerville. Donated goods are sold at the Salvation Army’s thrift stores and the proceeds fund their Adult Rehabilitation Centers.

“Donations of clothing, shoes, furniture and other household items from generous donors benefit our community in many ways: by providing a low-cost option for families to clothe and furnish their homes with quality merchandise, by keeping these items out of our waste stream and giving textiles and other items a second life, and by providing the means to operate a no insurance needed rehabilitation center that offers men a second chance,” explain Captains Chas and Debbie Engel, Salvation Army Administrators for Business and Program. “Of course, it’s not just the individuals completing our program whose lives are changed; their families and the communities around them benefit, as well.”

Goodwill, on Brunswick Pike in Lawrenceville, is also thankful for your donation of gently used clothing, accessories and furniture.

If you have shoes that your children have outgrown or that you no longer wear, they can find a second life when donated to Soles4Souls, which accepts gently worn shoes in all sizes and styles. After years of donating with his family, one local boy decided to help this organization collect shoes in a big way.

“One day, my mom showed me a video on the Soles4Souls website. In it were kids walking across dirt and debris with no socks or shoes,” shares Robbinsville teenager, Zachary Miller, who made a goal in honor of his Bar Mitzvah of collecting 25,000 shoes for the organization. “This made me really sad and made a big impression on me because I wear different types of shoes in my life for school, sports and dressing up. It never occurred to me that some people don’t even have one pair of shoes.”

So far Soles4Souls as saved more than 56 million shoes from waste and provided them to nonprofits around the world. Miller has set up a collection bin at Princeton Playspace on Alexander Road. You can drop your donations during their open hours, weekdays until 3:30pm and on weekends until 11:30am.

“I am very close to my goal and currently have collected 22,000 pair of shoes. But I really enjoy working with Soles4Souls and know that I will continue to partner with them long after I have collected 25,000 pairs,” he notes.

As the weather improves and we spend more time outside, you might notice your children have outgrown or no longer use certain toys. Gently used frisbees, hula hoops, jump ropes, playground balls, sidewalk chalk, sports cones, wiffle ball/bats and yoga mats are currently being collected by the Mobile Food Pantry to help encourage their recipients to stay active and get outdoors. You can donate any you have by contacting Liliana Morenilla through their website.

GIVE YOUR ITEMS TO A NEIGHBOR

To offer up used items to people in your local community, join a Buy Nothing Facebook group. In 2013, two friends in Washington created the first Buy Nothing and it has since expanded with at least 3 million participants through local groups in 44 nations, including here in Princeton.

“Currently, we have over 625 members each in the West and East groups. But we just sprouted into two groups two weeks ago and the numbers will grow exponentially in the next few weeks,” notes Buy Nothing Princeton (West) Administrator, Minda Alena.

In addition to Princeton (West), and Princeton (East) other local Buy Nothing Facebook groups include Hopewell Valley, Lawrence Township, Montgomery Township/Rocky Hill, Plainsboro and West Windsor.

“Buy Nothing Project rules are simple: Post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share amongst neighbors. Ask for anything you’d like to receive for free or borrow. Keep it legal. No hate speech. No buying or selling, no trades or bartering, we’re strictly a gift economy,” the website details.

Another way to give away items you no longer want to neighbors that do is through Freecycle. Here you can give/get anything from a dresser and loveseat, to plants and beach toys.

SHARE THE GIFT OF READING

Have children’s books your child will no longer read, a bunch of paperbacks you once read on vacation or an antique collection you obtained when your great aunt passed? There are local ways to pass all of them along!

Little Free Library allows you to give a book and take a book. And these small wooden book-sharing boxes have popped up in various spots around town. Local sites include at Princeton Shopping Center, 185 Dodds Lane, 256 Snowden Lane, 29 Leabrook Lane, 99 Dempsey Ave, 32 Edgehill Street and in Marquand Park on Lovers Lane.

In addition, The Friends Bookstore at The Princeton Public Library historically collects book donations from the community. However, there has been such an outpouring of donations this year, they are temporarily not making appointments to accept new ones. If you have items to give, you can email them here and they will contact you when you are able to book an appointment.

Gifts of rare books and manuscripts can be given to the Princeton University Library, if they meet the guidelines to support the University’s collection. You can also seek to sell your antiquarian books and special edition items to Labyrinth Books.

“Given the community we serve, our emphasis tends to be on scholarly and academic works in the disciplines, although distinctive and first editions are also welcome,” shares Stephen Walter, Labyrinth Floor Manager and Used/Rare Book Buyer. “What this means in practice is that we exclude many of the types of books a more general used bookstore might accept: mass market and genre fiction, dated hardbacks, ‘coffee table books,’ self-help, health and diet, old reference, popular biography, and political punditry, to list just some examples.”

You must make an appointment via email, by sending a description of your collection detailing the subject area, condition and quantity. If you can include photos, that is appreciated.

HELP OTHERS WITH TRANSPORTATION

Outgrown bicycles, in any condition, can be given to the Boys & Girls Clubs Bike Exchange. You can drop it directly at their Ewing site in Capitol Plaza, or in Princeton, there is a collection site at Jay’s Cycles on Nassau Street. The exchange repairs the bikes, if needed, then sells them at deeply discounted prices to members of the community. Sales benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County and promote cycling. If you’re planning to get yourself a new one, you might also be able to trade-in your bicycle towards an upgrade at Jay’s.

There are also numerous local charities accepting car donations. Salvation Army, Goodwill and Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County will all take your car whether it is running or not. Homefront is accepting car donations, only if they are in working order.

STOCK UP

Lastly, since it is tax season, take a look at your investments. You may want to clear some unwanted stocks out of your portfolio. As Trenton Area Soup Kitchen says, you can “maximize tax savings and meet your charitable goals” by giving them stocks or mutual funds.

Junior League of Greater Princeton also appreciates your support with the gift of stocks.

Whatever it is you are done with, consider passing it along. Giving your items a second life not only helps our environment, but it can put a really big smile on someone else’s face. We could all use a little more of that these days!

Editor’s Note

Princeton, NJ March 12, 2020 was a very different place than Princeton, NJ March 12, 2021. On that day one year ago, children attended a full day of school (albeit most cleaned out their lockers upon leaving), most grown-ups worked a full day at the office and hordes of people ran to the supermarket to stock up before we went into mandatory isolation. The governor had just signed an executive order, and many were filled with fear and concern. None of us could have predicted a year later we would still be avoiding crowds, wearing masks and waving hello to others from a distance.

That very same week, on March 17, 2020, Princeton Perspectives posted our first issue. Amidst the panic, we were able to share the current situation with one principal’s reaction to COVID, and every month since, we’ve gone in-depth to cover what matters and provide you with an understanding and appreciation for the happenings, people and places around our town.

This month, in COVID – A Year In. The Local Realities, Princeton Perspectives takes a look at what the situation has really been like for Princeton, and the people and places most affected by the pandemic.

Each one of us has a story, no one is unaffected. To hear what others have gone through, watch the Pulse of Princeton video. You’ll learn from several locals how the past year has changed them.

There has been a lot of information and misinformation about the impact the virus has had in Princeton. Who had been affected the most? Is it our long-term care facilities? Our schools? A Year Later, the Full Picture of COVID in Princeton investigates the situation to bring you an all-encompassing account of how our town has fared and where we stand today.

For some, COVID-19 took loved ones. For others, sickness struck and changed their lives. Four Princeton residents were brave enough to revisit their experiences and share them with you. After a Difficult Year, Reflections from Princeton Pandemic Survivors tells their stories.

Amongst all the sorrow and pain, is the beacon of hope. This unprecedented pandemic brought forth an array of scientific discoveries and creations. In Princeton-area Scientists Help Fight the Pandemic Battle, we demonstrate some of the ways our local science community has heeded the call and is helping us to curb this pandemic.

Also helping in this fight are our Frontline workers. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for all they have given and given up to protect and provide for our community. But what has it been like for them? Perspective from a Year on Princeton’s Frontline is a first-hand account from one of Princeton’s medical leaders. How did she manage being a doctor, a mother and a Princeton resident this past year? Read on to find out.

Last but not least we bring you Perspectives Revisited, our monthly opportunity to update you on stories from the past. It has been a year since the pandemic arrived, but unfortunately, it has had long-lasting effects.

Still, COVID cases have dropped in Princeton and every day more people get vaccinated. There is a feeling of optimism as the sun starts to shine more and warm weather ushers in. To that end, in April we will bring you Reinventions. Spring is a time for blooming, we’ll share our local realities of what’s blossoming here.

Thank you for going on this year-long journey with us. As always, if you like what you’re reading, please forward to a friend. We aim to tap into what matters to Princeton and that means what matters to you. If you have a topic idea we’re not covering, please email us here.

We look forward to sharing another year of honest journalism with you, and many more!

The Pulse of Princeton: How has this past year of the pandemic changed you?

We reached out to several Princeton residents to understand what it’s been like for them.

We’d love to include YOUR perspective! If you’d like to contribute a video for next month’s Pulse of Princeton, click here and provide your name and email address to be contacted.

A Year Later, the Full Picture of COVID in Princeton

The best news so far this year is that the number of COVID-19 cases in Princeton have been consistently dropping since December 30, 2020, with a more than 88% decrease to date. Today, there are now 2.45 confirmed cases per 10,000 inhabitants.

To follow the trajectory of the virus in and around Princeton, there are a lot pieces to put together. Every few days, the Mayor of Princeton puts out an email informing us of the latest updates: how many cases we’ve had, what the new re-opening plans are and who is next in line to get a vaccine. Schools inform their communities via email when a new case of COVID is identified and reach out to anyone who may be affected. And extra-curricular activities have made all attempts to continue, some in person and others via Zoom. With few to no social gatherings, no large groups volunteering in-person and many working from home, there are limited opportunities for one community to share its stories with another. So today, one year later, we take a look back to really understand statistically what the overall picture has been in Princeton.

The pandemic did take 20 lives in our town from March-May of last year, and recently, one more person passed from the virus. These deaths largely stemmed from initial outbreaks at long-term care facilities.

“Over 25% of the total population tested positive for COVID-19,”shared Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser, referencing initial occurrences of COVID at Princeton Care Center and Brandywine Serenade (formerly Acorn Glen). “87% of the deaths from COVID-19 registered in Princeton were reported from residents of nursing homes.”

At that point, the Princeton Health Department worked to improve communication between facilities and attributes the Governor’s mandates restricting visitation, mandating mask wearing in the facilities and requiring regular COVID testing of patients and staff to further rectifying the situation. Monitoring, contact tracing, surveillance and other vigilance combined to help turn the tide in those communities.

Source: Mercer County COVID 19 Dashboard

From March 10, 2020 through March 10, 2021, there were 625 confirmed cases of COVID in Princeton. The most recent 14-day total case count is at its lowest number since the 2-week period ending September 9th. As you can see in the graph above, Princeton has shown lower cumulative counts than our neighboring towns, county and the overall state. In general, it appears that our municipality’s actions from the health department and other government entities to support from residents and local businesses made big an impact. Additionally, our highly educated population, living in better housing conditions and following PPE mandates has led to a better scenario throughout the pandemic. That being said, not all segments of our population have fared as well.

As the graph below indicates, White, Black and Asian segments of our local community have fared proportionate to their populations if not better, whereas the Hispanic or Latino population which makes up 7.7% of Princeton residents contracted 15.3% of all reported cases.

There is a lot of talk nationwide about which age populations are getting COVID-19 more than others. In Princeton, the most affected age group overall has been those residents between ages 18-59 (54%), with the current average age of confirmed cases being 42.9. That is proportionate, as approximately 50% of Princeton’s population falls in that age group. Adults aged 60+ have made up 28% of Princeton’s cases, followed by those under 12 (12%) with children aged 13-17 having the smallest rate of contraction (4%).

“It is important to point out that between the first case ever reported on March 6, 2020 and August 25, 2020 cases reported were among people aged 50-60sh,” shares Grosser. “After August 2020, the mean age of people that contracted the disease dropped considerably.”

Likely due to the return of in-person sports and school. As one of the biggest fears of COVID-19 transmission at that time was the return to school, we saw a changing landscape of schooling throughout our community. All schools adapted their use of classroom and non-classroom space to permit for greater social distancing, while some remained full-time in person, a few schools had extended periods of all-remote learning and others turned to hybrid education.

Princeton Perspectives reached out to 20 area schools and only one school reported on campus COVID transmission this school year (two cases).

“We haven’t had any transmissions within the school building,” shares Princeton Day School’s Head of School, Paul Stellato. “Though there have been some cases, none have taken place in school.”

Mercer County as a whole has had only 4 confirmed outbreaks and 18 linked cases in schools. This victory is thanks in part to the partnership both public and independent schools have asked of their families including limiting travel, quarantining when needed, submitting to daily health screenings and following school safety protocols.

“We’ve been very fortunate, part is good luck and part is intentional safety practices,” notes Melissa Carroll, Princeton Friends Head of School. “We’ve been teaching outside using outdoor spaces. Kids eat lunch and have recesses everyday outdoors. We had full outdoor classes until Thanksgiving, have had some indoor instruction since, and now we’re reemerging. Indoors, we’ve had reduced class sizes, with all doors and windows open.”

Extra tables and bookcases were removed from classrooms, public areas became learning spaces, desks were spaced out and some schools added plexiglass dividers. Referred to as pods, bubbles or cohorts, many schools have children divided into groups that operate separately, which also helps to keep transmission risks minimal.

“Each classroom has a door that opens to the outside, so even when kids arrive, they enter through their classroom door. It helps us keep kids with their pods,” explains Princeton Junior School Director of Admissions and Enrollment, Katie Pottinger.

Independent schools do have some advantages over public schools. They don’t have to follow all of the same state mandates, started with smaller class sizes and some have also been able to perform on-campus COVID testing for segments of their population, an option not generally available to publicly funded schools.

The Hun School of Princeton (Hun), for example, identified several of their positive cases through regular, pro-active COVID testing of student-athletes, boarders, and students in activities carrying heightened risk, such as outside club sports, and those in choral and wind instrument classes – and therefore were able to isolate any positive students to prevent transmission. They also tested all faculty and staff upon return from winter break.

All our area independent schools have been back offering some in-person learning, either fulltime in-person or hybrid, since the 2020-2021 school year began. Some have added in weeks of remote schooling when a student tests positive, due to multiple cases reported in a similar timeframe and/or post-vacation transmission concerns.

For example, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart (PASH), which chose not to provide COVID information to Princeton Perspectives, has offered in-person classes since the start of this school year. Multiple unnamed sources confirm that on more than one occasion the school transitioned one or more grades to all-virtual when a student tested positive. The sources also shared PASH opted to go fully remote from Thanksgiving through winter break, to protect against COVID.

Deciding remote vs. hybrid vs. fulltime in-person has not been an easy decision for any administrator. All schools that are primarily full-time or hybrid also offer families the option to be all-remote. Of our area schools, Princeton Charter School kept students completely virtual the longest. While Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades returned to hybrid learning in November, 3rd and 4th graders came back in January and 5-8th just returned last month.

“Data is great except it’s limited in situations where we don’t have it, and we don’t have it on children in a lot of ways. That’s what contributed to an unnerving time for teachers, administrators and a lot of parents,” states Larry Patton, Charter School’s Head of School. “What we know now and how we feel about it now, it’s more comforting coming back to school now than it was then [September].”

With PreK-12 educators and staff now eligible for the vaccine in New Jersey, Princeton Public Schools feel more comfortable with the decision to expand their in-person hours. Phased in over the course of the next month, elementary grades are expected in school 4-days a week, every week. Middle and high school students will add one day, to come in-person 5-days a week, every other week.

Overall, the number of COVID cases reported at our area schools remains relatively low, as evidenced in the chart below (based on data provided to Princeton Perspectives from each school within the past two weeks).

NAME OF SCHOOLGRADE LEVELS# STUDENTS ENROLLEDREPORTED COVID CASESSCHOOL STRUCTURE
Princeton High School9-121,54621 students/8 staffHybrid Learning
Princeton Unified Middle School6-88116 students/8 staffHybrid Learning
Riverside Elementary SchoolPreK-52842 students/8 staffHybrid Learning
Littlebrook Elementary SchoolK-53511 student/ 8 staffHybrid Learning
Johnson Park Elementary SchoolPreK-533512 students/ 6 staffHybrid Learning
Community Park Elementary SchoolK-53193 students/1 staffHybrid Learning
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred HeartPreK-123842 students/3 staffFulltime
in-person
Princeton Academy of the Sacred HearthK-8198
(according to Niche.com)
No Data ProvidedFulltime
in-person
The Hun School of Princeton6-1266523 in-person students/faculty/staffHybrid Learning
Princeton WaldorfInfant-8126
(according to Niche.com)
No Data ProvidedFulltime in-person
WilberforceK-122572 studentsFulltime
in-person
Princeton Montessori SchoolInfant-81651 caseFulltime
in-person
The Lawrenceville School9-128328 in-person students/19 employeesPartial in-person,partial all virtual
Princeton Day SchoolPreK-12950School says
“Several cases”
No Specific #s Provided
Fulltime in-person
French American School of PrincetonPreK-8165+School says
“A few cases total”
No Specific #s Provided
Fulltime
in-person
The Lewis SchoolPreK-12unknownNo Data Provided
Chapin SchoolPreK-8225
(according to Niche.com)
No Data Provided Fulltime
in-person
Princeton FriendsPreschool-81000 casesFulltime
in-person
Princeton Junior SchoolPreschool-51001 false positive studentFulltime
in-person
Princeton Charter SchoolK-84242 faculty during Remote, 0 cases since back on campusHybrid Learning

Despite multiple attempts, we were unable to obtain information from Princeton Waldorf or The Lewis School. Chapin School was not willing to comment specifically or generally about COVID cases reported, but an unnamed source connected to the school told Princeton Perspectives they believe there have been at least four notifications of positive cases amongst students/staff.

The Lawrenceville School and Hun are the only schools within a 5-mile radius that offer boarding. To keep a handle on COVID, Lawrenceville boarding students just returned to campus this past weekend, having been all remote since the Thanksgiving break. Their in-person classes start up again March 30th. Hun boarding students were remote from Thanksgiving break until school resumed in January. Later that month, two boarders received positive test results. Immediately, the school turned to an all-virtual learning model for the next week to control spread of the virus.

Multiple case reports have prompted other schools to take immediate action as well. After learning of more than eight unrelated cases in a 24-hour period, Princeton Day School went all-remote for a week in late November. And a month earlier, Princeton High School had two straight weeks of virtual school when a student and two teachers tested positive (two of the cases originated at out of school sports programs).

Schools, primarily for older grades, have attempted to bring back some semblance of after school activities and sports. Athletic teams were feared to be major contributor to the transmission of COVID-19, causing Governor Murphy to enact some rules to try and mitigate the damage. Organized sports activities in general were banned from early-on in the pandemic, then allowed to reorganize outdoors at the end of June. Contact practices were allowed again in October, which the state claims then led to “11 confirmed outbreaks of youth and school-aged ice hockey teams.” That caused Governor Murphy to sign a new executive order banning interstate youth sports competitions in mid-November. For most of December until early January, indoor sports were all shut down. They were allowed to resume January 2, 2021. The interstate sports ban has since been lifted for all sports, except hockey, which remains suspended until at least March 31st.

“In our organization, we did not experience any “mass” transmission amongst players and/or families. There were concerns that this was happening across the state, and there are examples of teams that had mass transmission amongst players and families,” says Kevin Welsh, Princeton Youth Hockey Association (PYHA) Board Member and Assistant Coach.

To protect their players and coaches, PYHA instituted a stringent COVID protocol that included participants responding to a questionnaire, taking temperatures, requiring masks when helmets are off and closing down locker rooms. Welsh estimates 7-10 PYHA players have contracted the virus, but not from participating in one of their events.

“As part of our COVID Protocol, and in accordance with CDC guidelines, we have had several instances where a single team was shut down for a period of time due to a positive test by a player, or close contact with a family member who tested positive,” notes Welsh. “In all of these instances, we have not had a single report of another transmission or infection due to contact, so we feel that these protocols have worked as designed to halt any possible subsequent infections. After adhering to CDC guidelines for quarantining, all of these teams returned to play.”

Just last month, NJ lifted the ban on attendance at some sporting events, with parents being allowed indoors to watch their children play. On March 1st, large venues opened to fans at 10% capacity for indoor events, 15% capacity outdoors. This follows a trend of other expansions, largely linked to the decline in numbers and vaccine rollout.

During the period when vaccine was provided by the state to the Princeton Health Department, 811 residents received their two doses. And in the first eight weeks of vaccine distribution, the department worked with the Mercer County Health Officer’s Association to deliver over 4,000 doses.

“In just the last three weeks, the Princeton Health Department has noticed incredible increases in the number of residents who have been vaccinated,” shares Grosser. “Nearly 1 in 3 individuals we contact to schedule for a vaccination has already been vaccinated elsewhere. If this continues, we are optimistic we will have a majority of the eligible population vaccinated in the next few months.”

There is also hope, with the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the State’s vaccine supply will increase and allow for municipal distribution once again. This would allow the Princeton Health Department to vaccinate local residents who are physically restricted and can’t travel for the immunization.

With the unknown protection against variants and until we reach a comfortable level of herd immunity, Grosser suggests we can continue to keep Princeton’s COVID cases down by getting vaccinated as soon as you are eligible, socializing safely and continuing to wear a mask.

Princeton-area Scientists Help Fight the Pandemic Battle

It has been a year of difficulties and loss, but it has also been a year of innovation. To get through the pandemic, the world has relied upon advances from biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical entities and other scientists. Due to Princeton’s location in the center of so many of these establishments, many contributions to help, heal and prevent the virus have taken place in our own backyard.

HOMEGROWN VACCINE

The most notable is Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine that just received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the last day of February. Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) headquarters are nearby in New Brunswick, with its Janssen offices also nearby in Titusville.

The vaccine’s journey began in January 2020, when J&J started working towards developing a vaccine. In March, its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies collaborated with Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to research vaccine candidates. Luckily, Janssen had already been working with an immune stimulating platform called AdVac. AdVac has been used in a vaccine for Ebola and in investigational vaccines for HIV and RSV. It uses a version of adenovirus 26 (Ad26) which normally causes a common cold but has been disabled, so it won’t make you sick, and passes its genetic code into the body to get your immune system to react and fight the virus.

Photo Courtesy: Johnson & Johnson

Working with several partners in the U.S., Europe, India and South Africa, multiple manufacturing sites were developed. In an effort to move things along quickly, the Phase 1 and 2 trials were combined, and in July testing began in 1,000 healthy patients. At its facility in the Netherlands, J&J prepared to produce a trial supply, which it launched in August. September saw the trial expand to tens of thousands of people and by November, the vaccine candidate was completely created, made and filled. In January 2021, the manufacturing process in the Netherlands proved it was reliable, and the EUA was sought in the U.S. as well as its European counterpart.

“Doing our part to combat the greatest public health crisis in living memory has been a huge undertaking for our company. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the incredible teams that made this milestone a reality, and to each and every one of my 135,000 colleagues for living into Our Credo values with great resilience and agility to ensure we keep meeting the healthcare needs of all who rely on Johnson & Johnson,” says J&J Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky.

The benefits of this new vaccine are that it requires only one shot and it can be refrigerated for months compared to its predecessors from Pfizer and Moderna, which require two doses and ultra-low storage temperatures.

On March 3rd, J&J announced an unprecedented partnership with another NJ-based pharmaceutical company, Merck, to help provide more supply. Merck, headquartered in Kenilworth, NJ, will use two of its U.S. facilities to “produce drug substance as well as formulate and fill vials of the vaccine,” according to J&J. That same week New Jersey received its first delivery of the vaccine.

LOCAL IMMUNIZATION EFFORT

Another nearby company is hoping that its vaccine innovations will also help in the fight against COVID-19. OncoSec, headquartered in Pennington, is a cancer immunotherapy company. Its advances in signaling a patient’s immune response to fight has been used to create cancer-fighting solutions since its inception. When COVID hit, OncoSec realized it could translate its techniques to fight a virus like this just the same.

Simply put, healthy immune cells have something that signal your body to have a pro-inflammatory response. It’s called IL-12. OncoSec has learned to code DNA with IL-12 (a creation they named TAVO), then, using a special energy field, get that TAVO inside of a cell that’s lacking an immune response and force that cell to produce one.

Image Courtesy: OncoSec

“When you run energy in and around the membrane of the cell, it creates micro pores just big enough for the DNA to pass through the membrane of the cell,” explains Dan O’Connor, CEO of OncoSec. “When that energy is put into that setting for about 2 seconds, the DNA moves inside and then when the energy stops, the membranes return to normal and the DNA is now trapped inside the cell, which tells the cell to make IL-12.”

For the past 12 years, OncoSec has been working to inject tumors with Il-12 to get them to respond to and fight off cancers. When the pandemic hit, they realized the immune response triggered by a vaccine could be enhanced by TAVO. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) agreed and offered them the chance to license the spike glycoprotein. The difference is this glycoprotein is found in an RNA version in the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but OncoSec uses a DNA version.

In collaboration with Providence Cancer Center in Portland, OR, OncoSec is now in a Phase 1 clinical trial of its vaccine – CORVax12. The trials are taking a look at two things. First, using the spike protein and TAVO in up to 36 healthy patients, by administering it into the skin. Researchers are looking to see if it not only enhances a vaccine but creates a better one. Previous vaccine trials have only been done on healthy people, so the second thing this trial is looking at is to help cancer patients get vaccinated and fight cancer at the same time.

“When a cancer patient is getting treatment, it could interfere with a vaccine,” notes O’Connor. “As an enhancement, if we use the tumor as a nexus to present the antigen, the immunologically more relevant place to go, could that be a way in which you could develop a prophylactic COVID vaccine for cancer patients and also be giving them something we’ve seen consistently that can shrink their tumors?”

OncoSec is hoping so. Unlike the large ones that have vaccines already in use, it’s a small company, with the clinical team, regulatory team and back-office functions of its operations all housed in Pennington (its research lab and engineering are in California) and they are now supporting the study in Oregon, providing it with all of the essential elements to run it. Within a month or two, there is hope things will proceed onto Phase 2, analyzing and monitoring the data. Because it uses energy to direct the cell, a non-physical and non-toxic method, there tend to be few side effects as well. If this immunological advancement proves viable, it could open doors to enhance persistence in the vaccines already in use, be a new vaccine in its own right or for many other future opportunities.

NEIGHBORLY ASSESSMENTS

While OncoSec is working on vaccinations, down the road in Carnegie Center sits a small pharmaceutical company that has been helping in other ways to fight COVID. Fosun Pharma USA, which was formed four years ago and hopes to staff 25 people by the end of this year, is backed by a big public company, Fosun Pharma in China. When the virus hit the U.S., they started bringing in masks and sending ventilators around the country. It then developed a PCR test kit, and through its partners, antibody and antigen testing kits.

“We did the study here,” shares Lily Zou, CEO of Fosun Pharma USA. “The manufacturing is done in China, but we have been working with local (US) labs to get testing and FDA authorization.”

Photo Courtesy: Fosun Pharma USA

In April of last year, Fosun USA filed for and received EUA for the PCR test, known as Fosun COVID-19 RT-PCR Detection kit, that was developed by its parent company in China. To date, it has provided for approximately 400,000 U.S. laboratory tests. Its accuracy for positive samples is 99.51% and it has an accuracy rate of 96.44% with negative samples. Fosun USA also has a Quickkit COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Test and a Quickkit COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test, created by Chinese partners.

“For the antibody kit, our partner has FDA authorization for certain usage in labs. We don’t have FDA authorization yet for use at Point of Care as that authorization requires more data,” states Zou. “The Antigen was submitted but not yet authorized at all. We are working on expansion for antibody and antigen authorization.”

Fosun USA currently imports the test kits from China, then from their warehouse in Tennessee, ships across the country. So far, the most sales have been in Arizona and California, though Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in New Jersey is a big customer. Looking ahead, they are working on a neutralizing antibody test as well as other diagnostics and products related to COVID.

UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Princeton University has also put forth many efforts in the fight against COVID-19. These efforts have focused on the creation of Personal Protection Equipment and most notably on breathing assistants, such as ventilators and monitoring devices.

When the pandemic started making its way through Europe in March 2020, Cristiano Galbiati was on sabbatical and in lockdown in Milan, Italy when he had an idea for a new high quality, cost-effective ventilator.

Photo Courtesy: Vexos

“The dire need of ventilators became immediately noticeable,” recalls Galbiati, Princeton University Professor of Physics, who immediately reached out to many of his colleagues. “The project was buoyed by the enthusiasm of a few hundred colleagues in making available their expertise in handling gases for an applied project that could benefit the society at large, at a moment of dire need. Organizing a very strong collaboration around this goal was the easiest part of the job: people did not need to be motivated to take part in this enterprise.”

Galbiati took his experience working with finding dark matter and applied it to the creation of a ventilator – pushing oxygen and nitrogen into a person’s lungs. He led a team of more than 200 worldwide experts, mostly from Princeton University and Canada’s Queen’s University, including Nobel Prize-winning Physicist Dr. Art McDonald of Canada. They helped take this idea further and in just 42 days the Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM) received FDA approval.

The Canadian government, like other countries, wanted to make sure it was taking care of its needs. McDonald helped connect the team to Vexos electronic manufacturing in Toronto, Canada which was awarded a contract.

“So, we actually manufactured the ventilators here in Markham, Canada (a suburb north of Toronto), built and delivered 6,000 ventilators to the Canadian government to replenish their stockpile,” describes Wayne Hawkins, Vexos Senior VP and General Manager. “We replenished them, candidly they haven’t been deployed to hospitals yet, but they are ready to go.”

Vexos’ sister facility in Ohio was ready to fill a U.S. contract as well but as the curve lowered, the U.S. government cancelled a lot of ventilator contracts and did not end up securing any MVMs.

“The role of myself and many other US scientists was truly essential to secure the success of the project. While I led the prototyping effort in Italy, many US scientists played a key role in contributing to the design, reviewing the performance of prototypes, and preparing the documentation for certification,” Galbiati adds.

Ventilators have been an essential tool in helping people recover from COVID-19, but another group of Princeton University Professors learned from Penn Medicine there were also other needs in breathing assistance. Particularly, when patients don’t need full intubation but do need oxygen.

Photo Courtesy: Princeton University

So last spring, Princeton Physics Professors Daniel Marlow, Chris Tully and Associate Professor of Physics and Neuroscience Andrew Leifer worked with a team across various Princeton departments to develop a flow meter– meant to work in conjunction with Helmet non-invasive ventilation (NIV). The helmet system has many advantages for treating COVID patients, but due to lack of proper monitoring equipment, has the risk of unexpected drop in air flow that could lead to recirculation of CO2 or even asphyxiation. The Princeton Open Ventilator Monitor (POVM), as it has been named, is meant to monitor the air flow and other important data regarding a patient’s breathing and alarm clinicians through a remote monitoring station of any issues. Within six weeks, for less than $300 dollars each, the team produced and tested 50 devices. Then went in search of FDA authorization.

“As it happens, it is much harder to get FDA approval for a device than it is to design and build a device (at least for something of this nature),” explains Professor Daniel Marlow. “One thing that makes the EUA process difficult is that it involves not only the device itself, but also the organization that manufactures it. Our initial efforts at approval foundered when the company we had lined up to serve as manufacturer became non-responsive.”

Today, the professors are hoping their article on the POVM is accepted to a peer reviewed journal. And, it may be seeing a future manufacturing road ahead.

“Recently we have lined up another company that seems to be motivated to make this work,” adds Marlow.

Once production is secured, there is hope to acquire FDA approval and see their equipment used on patients.

Though cases of COVID-19 are declining and vaccination efforts seem to be demonstrating significant success, scientists, biotech firms and pharmaceutical companies in and around the Princeton area continue to work towards their goals of helping patients and eradicating the virus. NJ may be known for high taxes and old infrastructure, but Central NJ is certainly making an impact with its scientific advances.

Editor’s Note

When we cast our ballots last November, we weren’t just picking names on a list. We were choosing candidates that we hoped would represent our needs and wishes. It’s that way for every election. Yet, sometimes, your choices win, and sometimes they don’t. Either way, they still represent you and their actions and decisions have impact.

In this month’s issue of Princeton Perspectives, Politics: From the White House to Princeton, we aim to help you understand what our representatives at all levels of government are doing as we start 2021, and how you may be affected.

This is our town, but will the new Mayor and Council take hold of the matters most important to you? There’s no video segment in this month’s Pulse of Princeton because we want you all to take our poll so we can let them know where your priorities lie. Cast your vote then check the results now.

At the national level, President Biden is nearly one month into his term of office. He has made promises, instituted plans and begun his agenda. Big picture is important, but what happens when his measures reach your home or your wallet? In Biden’s Plan and its Impact Here in Princeton, our guest writer breaks down some of the proposals and what you should be prepared for.

News from the Biden camp makes headlines. But did you know there are 3 levels of government between your house and the White House, legislating and making decisions that could affect you or someone you love? From Trenton to Princeton, 2021 Legislation explains what your state, county and municipal representatives have been legislating so far in 2021. From COVID to cardiac care, there is a lot at stake for you to understand.

And leading the way in Princeton is Mayor Mark Freda. He may be new to this office, but he’s not new to town or to the many facets that comprise it. What is his agenda as he’s kicked off his four-year term? Read Princeton has a New Mayor in Town to find out.

One of the special parts of our town is its international nature. It brings about culture and trends, diversity and more. As immigration has come under the microscope in recent years and changes are expected under Biden, a Rider University Professor shares her viewpoint on what’s to come in Perspective: The Local Effects of Immigration Reform.

We always try to keep you up to date on stories we’ve covered in previous issues. Perspectives Revisited has the latest, at the bottom of the site. Don’t forget to scroll down!

Next month is a very special month for us at Princeton Perspectives. It’s our one-year anniversary! Time has surely flown and we couldn’t have had such a successful year without your loyal readership! We’ve seen nearly 75% growth since we launched! Please help us continue to grow by sharing our magazine with friends and family! They can sign up to receive our next issue in their inbox by clicking here!

As March is not just our anniversary but also that of this terrible pandemic, Princeton Perspectives will offer a fully encompassing view of Princeton and COVID, a year in.

We hope you are staying healthy, safe and warm in these tumultuous times!

The Pulse of Princeton

Let’s see what our readers think! Please choose one and see results below.

At the local level, the top priority for our Mayor and Council should be: