Scientists under the societal microscope: challenges to research integrity

COVID-19 promises to reshape every aspect of society, not excluding how science is perceived. However, it is not clear whether the authority of science and scientists will be enhanced or diminished, or whether such changes will affect mainly science as an endeavour or scientists as individuals. The aim of this paper is to analyze how a pandemic like COVID-19 could undermined the confidence in science and scientist and, to underline now, more than ever, the importance of trust in science and in scientists. Two main issues will be analyzed: first, we will analyze how putting science and scientists in the spotlight could impact science and scientists and, secondly, we will go through the history of COVID treatment and research to anticipate how misconduct and breaches on responsible conduct in research could undermine trust in science with serious risks and consequences.