Biosecurity
A major component of operating a high containment research laboratory
is ensuring that access to biological agents, particularly select
agents, is tightly controlled.
Independent access to the Galveston National Laboratory is available
only to those employees and students with regular business inside the
GNL. Access is typically requested by faculty or GNL leadership and is
approved after appropriate screening by UTMB Police. To request access
to the GNL, download and complete the form found under the GNL tab on this website
Conference Facilities at the GNL
The GNL conference room and other meeting spaces in the facility are
routinely used for seminars and meetings that may involve participants
from other areas of campus. Community members and visitors from other
universities also have occasion to attend meetings at the GNL. All
employees, students and visitors without badge access to the GNL
laboratory complex are required to register with the police officers at
the main entrance to the GNL where a copy of their official photo
identification (driver’s license, passport or other official
documentation) is made.
All visitors who are approved by UTMB police for entry will receive a
temporary identification badge that must be worn at all times during
their stay in the facility. Visitors must pass through a metal
detector, and all carried items will be screened. On exiting the
facility, visitors return their temporary badge prior to their exit. While inside the GNL, all visitors are escorted, and they are not
allowed to enter laboratory spaces where work with infectious biological
select agents is being conducted.
In addition, no photography is allowed inside the GNL/Keiller laboratory complex
Security for the GNL is the responsibility of the UTMB Police Department, which is led by Chief Ken Adcox. The UTMB Police Department is part of an elite group of law enforcement agencies that is accredited
by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).