Cornell iGEM understands the inherent risks associated with working in a lab facility and we aim to take all necessary precautions to minimize these risks. Our completed safety form can be found here.
Any team member who works in the lab is required to attend an orientation session with Dr. Shivaun Archer, a senior lecturer in the Meining School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Additionally, all members are required to go through standard training for working in a lab by completing two courses through Cornell EH&S.
While the labs only opened in the fall semester during COVID-19, Cornell iGEM carried our minimal lab training then, but did not opt for any in-person experiments to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. When in lab, all members abided by the following rules:
- All members in lab must have completed their Daily Check, Cornell University’s system to hold students accountable daily for COVID-19 precautions
- Masks were worn at all times in the lab
- All members stayed 6 feet apart from each other at all times
- No more than three members were allowed in the lab at any one time
- For contact tracing purposes, a calendar was marked with who was in the lab at any given time.
- Protocols for entering the lab were adapted to minimize contact with others in the building.