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Safety in iGEM

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Synthetic Biology Lab is the home of the 2015 iGEM team.

Dress Code

To work in the lab, there are specific attire requirements. These include wearing long pants, close-toed shoes, shirts covering upper arms, and long hair pulled back. When performing experiments, gloves are required. There are also lab coats, goggles, and masks available.

Lab

The lab is equipped with controlled access, a biohazard disposal bin, autoclave, fume hood, biosafety cabinet, eyewash and shower station, fire extinguisher, and fire alarm. Each team member was trained in laboratory safety from previous coursework, and additional safety training was carried out when necessary as the project progressed. The team follows and adheres to the safety guidelines in place for all biology labs on campus, including wearing long pants, closed-toed shoes, sleeved shirts or laboratory coats, and safety glasses, gloves, and masks when appropriate. Furthermore, each member places the highest concern on maintaining aseptic technique to minimize contamination and safety concerns.

All chemicals used in the lab are stored, handled, and used as recommended by the manufacturer, and are disposed of in accordance with national, state, and local regulations and recommendations. This year’s project works with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BY4742 and YNR036C). Both of these strains are considered Risk Group 1 organisms by the World Health Organization in their Laboratory Biosafety Manual. This classification means that our organisms are low risk and “unlikely to cause human disease or animal disease.” All microbial strains used in the lab are either rendered antibiotic resistant by transformation, or they harbor nutritional auxotrophies or other mutations that mitigate the risk of growth outside of the laboratory or the ability of the organism to cause disease in healthy humans or animals. Lastly, none of our recombinant strains produce known toxins or contagions.

Training

Each team member has gone through training in proper laboratory behavior. This included aseptic technique in order to prevent contamination and similar safety concerns.