NERBL Core 1: Facility Management, Maintenance and Operations

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PROJECT SUMMARY – CORE 1 The broad, long-range objective of Core 1 (Facility Management, Maintenance, and Operations Core) for the New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory (NERBL) is to ensure that research or tasks directed to promoting research on or responding to pathogens of pandemic potential, and other emerging infections (PPP/EI), are safely, efficiently, and rigorously accomplished. Although physical infrastructure support, daily operations (both building and laboratory related), and laboratory/vivarium activities are typically compartmentalized functions with separate staffing and specialized expertise, redundancy of functions is an essential tenet for biocontainment. As such, the primary goal of Core 1 is to ensure that NERBL staff are trained in core competencies for facility management, maintenance, and operation, ensuring redundancy of key functions, including biosafety, at all times. The two elements associated with this Core are: 1) sustainability of physical infrastructure, including continuous monitoring of BSL-3 containment systems; decontamination, retesting, and certification of BSL-3 containment facilities; preventive maintenance in accordance with a repair and lifecycle replacement plan for critical existing equipment and building systems necessary for BSL-3/ABSL3 operations; and emergency repair/replacement of essential equipment and building systems required for operating the NERBL; and 2) regulatory compliance, including all existing and future biosecurity directives related to control of select agents and other highly pathogenic agents; and confirming that the NERBL and staff adhere to all relevant environmental health and biosafety requirements. By directly engaging all staff in maintenance of physical facility infrastructure and associated compliance activities, they gain a deep understanding regarding foundational elements that underly success of the NERBL. This also creates a truly collaborative partnership whose success is reliant upon participation by all stakeholders. To achieve these goals, we will train and maintain additional staff in facility management, maintenance and operations, create and optimize standard operating procedures that ensure safe and secure operation of the NERBL, and develop fiscal and resource management plans that support long-term sustainability and success of research activities responsive to both investigator-initiated requests and PPP/EI NIAID specific priorities.