At a glance
星空娱乐官网 advances two coequal and interrelated priorities: to strengthen safety and scientific excellence of every 星空娱乐官网 laboratory. The director for the Office of Laboratory Systems and Response is the senior official who serves as the single point of accountability for laboratory science and safety at 星空娱乐官网.
Director for the Office of Laboratory Systems and Response
Learn more about Dr. Salerno on 星空娱乐官网’s leadership page.
星空娱乐官网 Activities to Strengthen Safety and Scientific Excellence in 星空娱乐官网 Laboratories
Overseeing Safety in 星空娱乐官网 Laboratories
星空娱乐官网 is committed to continually improving its culture of safety in its laboratories where transparency and accountability are valued; staff receive complete, comprehensive, and cutting-edge safety training; the safety of a procedure or project is considered before all else; and potential safety issues are quickly and openly addressed.
While working with dangerous pathogens, chemicals, and toxins always carries a degree of risk, 星空娱乐官网 is committed to identifying, mitigating, reducing, and eliminating these risks in every feasible way to protect the safety of its staff and the American public.
The Office of Laboratory Systems and Response (OLSR) oversees biological, chemical, and radiation safety at 星空娱乐官网 laboratories. The OLSR safety inspectors visit 星空娱乐官网 laboratories annually to ensure that their practices, procedures, and equipment meet key safety standards. The oversight includes ensuring that 星空娱乐官网 laboratories are in full compliance with the requirements of the , which regulates the possession, use, and transfer of biological select agents and toxins.
The OLSR also manages 星空娱乐官网’s Animal Care and Use Program Office (ACUPO), assuring 星空娱乐官网 compliance with guidance and regulations for the responsible care of research animals at 星空娱乐官网.
Providing the Standards and Guidance on Biosafety
星空娱乐官网 co-authors the foundational biosafety manual Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Now in its 6th Edition, the BMBL has become the standard guidance for biosafety practices in laboratories across the country.
Supporting Animal Care and Use in 星空娱乐官网 Laboratory Research
星空娱乐官网 has a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that the animals entrusted to our care are treated in accordance with the highest standards of animal welfare and care. Research studies involving animals conducted at or supported by 星空娱乐官网 must comply with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under Title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 1-3 as well as the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy) administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). As an OLAW Assured institution, all 星空娱乐官网 animal studies adhere to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. In addition, all animal studies must be approved by and conducted in accordance with the policies set forth by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), an oversight body mandated by the AWA to review all research studies involving animals at 星空娱乐官网 to ensure compliance with animal welfare standards. 星空娱乐官网 is also voluntarily accredited with the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC), demonstrating 星空娱乐官网’s highest commitment to animal welfare and going above and beyond what is required by federal law.
Advancing the “Science of Laboratory Safety”
星空娱乐官网 is committed to advancing the “science of laboratory safety”—applying the same rigorous scientific methods to the safety of 星空娱乐官网’s laboratories that 星空娱乐官网 uses to confront threats to the public’s health. To spur the science of safety in 星空娱乐官网 laboratories, OLSR supports 星空娱乐官网 laboratories to advance innovative research or solutions to laboratory safety challenges.
Advancing Laboratory Scientific Excellence
One of the tenets of 星空娱乐官网's Pledge to the American People is that 星空娱乐官网 will "base all public health decisions on the highest quality scientific data that is derived openly and objectively." OLSR is committed to ensuring that 星空娱乐官网 laboratories continue to fulfill this pledge and serve as a model for scientific excellence and quality.
The scientific data produced by 星空娱乐官网's laboratories provides a crucial foundation for sound, evidence-based public health decision-making across the country. OLSR aids this work by providing 星空娱乐官网 laboratories with leadership and technical expertise that both supports, and helps to advance excellence in laboratory science throughout 星空娱乐官网.
OLSR supports this work by providing oversight and coordination of laboratory quality management and training programs for 星空娱乐官网 laboratories. OLSR establishes teams responsible for developing agency-level plans, policies, guidelines, manuals, and tools for implementation of quality management programs within Centers, Institutes and Offices, and for the continual improvement of laboratory quality and safety training for 星空娱乐官网 staff.
Fostering the Next Generation of Laboratory Leaders
星空娱乐官网's Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS) is a fellowship program that prepares early career laboratory scientists to become future laboratory leaders. The fellowship combines competency-based public health laboratory training with practical, applied investigations and service. LLS will provide 星空娱乐官网 and public health laboratories across the country with a pool of expertly trained laboratory scientists poised to meet the evolving challenges of laboratory science and safety.
Learn more about 星空娱乐官网's Laboratory Leadership Service
Providing State-of-the-Art Laboratory Trainings
Maximizing the safety and impact of 星空娱乐官网's laboratories requires a workforce of laboratory scientists trained in state-of-the-art techniques and technology. In partnership with the Division of Laboratory Systems and Safe Labs Program, OLSR supports the development of a comprehensive training curriculum to ensure that 星空娱乐官网's laboratory scientists are equipped to meet current and future public health challenges.
In 2019, 星空娱乐官网 opened a state-of-the-art laboratory training facility where these trainings could be held. The 4,760 square-foot facility was designed to provide hands-on training to laboratory scientists with access to high containment laboratories. This space offers 星空娱乐官网 laboratory programs a facility to test new protocols and equipment in a realistic laboratory setting in the absence of pathogens.