The National Biocontainment Training Center (NBTC) is dedicated to preparing infectious disease scientists to work safely in highcontainment research laboratories worldwide. Located on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), the NBTC enhances UTMB’s existing internationally recognized Laboratory Biosafety Training Program and will serve as the hub of instruction for the nation’s emerging infectious disease and biodefense researchers. UTMB is also home to the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), a facility dedicated to creating tomorrow’s solutions to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. The GNL is one of only two National Institutes of Health supported BSL4 facilities located on a U.S. academic campus.
What is biosafety training?
This type of laboratory training is typically a combination of classroom and hands-on training and followed by an intensive in-lab mentoring program that serves to orient scientists to working with agents in biocontainment laboratories. The term "biocontainment" refers to the level of physical controls and safety practices required for research work, based upon the organism under study. Federal guidelines provide direction regarding the biocontainment classification for pathogenic microorganisms.
Why is the establishment of a national training center important?
With expanded construction in biocontainment research facilities over the past decade in the U.S. and world wide, there is a need as never before to increase the number of highly trained researchers and support staff required to work in these high-tech facilities – as recently highlighted in a AAAS Workshop report. The NBTC will meet that critical need by systematically training individuals for work in high containment research environments. The amplified emphasis on security and complex mechanical systems in and surrounding the operation of BSL3 and BSL4 facilities has increased the intricacy of containment laboratory operations, creating additional training necessities for safety, facility/engineering, and scientific staff – each of which the NBTC is equipped to meet.
Who will receive instruction at UTMB’s NBTC?
To date, UTMB’s biosafety experts, research scientists and biocontainment engineers have successfully trained approximately 1,200 individuals to work in national and international BSL2, BSL3 and BSL4 labs. The resources of the NBTC will build upon this impressive record. Proven and successful training programs for students, researchers, safety officers and biocontainment engineering staff working within high containment environments will see their curricula further expanded. Unique in the NBTC’s training program is a fellowship program for the mentorship of biocontainment engineers. This program is designed to equip the next generation of facility engineers with the specialized skills needed for the growing network of BSL3 and BSL4 laboratories under construction around the world.
The Biocontainment Operations Fellowship Program offered by the NBTC is a two-year fellowship program designed to train individuals on the commissioning, operation, maintenance, and ongoing validation of Biosafety Level (BSL) -2, -3, and -4 laboratories. For more information on the fellowship, click here or contact us.