Students at the University of Texas Medical Branch have the unique
opportunity to receive specialized training and experience working in
one of the most sophisticated, high-containment laboratories in the
world.
The Galveston National Laboratory (GNL) is one of only two Biosafety
Level 4 (BSL4) research facilities located on an American university
campus. As such, it provides UTMB students with the enviable opportunity
to work their way up through a rigorous Biosafety Training Program that
leads to mentored training working directly with faculty recognized as
some of the most accomplished infectious disease scientists in the
world.
Students at UTMB work with faculty who are focused on both basic and
translational research on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases
like drug-resistant TB, Zika virus, chikungunya, dengue, MERS,
influenza, Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers, Plague, Tularemia,
Hepatitis C, Chagas, and dozens of other public health threats.
Student efforts contribute to new discoveries and better
understanding of disease pathogenesis, translational successes such as
diagnostics and therapeutics, and published works that help to pave the
way for scientists around the world.
Training to work at the BSL4 level is a progressive and highly
personalized process. Training covers personal safety, equipment
operation, protocols and procedures, and laboratory operations at all
levels of biocontainment. It typically takes the equivalent of a full
year to complete. That training is followed by 100 hours of direct
mentorship for each student with a Principal Investigator before
independent access is granted. Graduate students who elect to pursue
BSL4 access commit to a demanding schedule of training and laboratory
work in addition to typical graduate study.