Team:Virginia/Safety
Index:
Safety
Safety is central to research. But especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, safety regulations became even more important, as there were new regulations added onto the standard regulations that Virginia iGEM would have to be aware of and ensure were followed. Safety regulations for project development, device design, and lab work were taken very seriously to minimize the risk of danger to both team members and any advisors or contributors.
Safe Project Development
All activities of the Virginia iGEM team were done in adherence to the safety regulations of the University of Virginia, the state of VA, and the iGEM organization.
The development of the project began in-person in the spring semester but quickly shifted to solely virtual development in March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic progression. In order to maintain the health and safety of all team members and advisors, development remained entirely virtual throughout the summer and was predominantly virtual in the fall, with minimal access to a laboratory. See the “Safe Lab Work” section to learn more about how the UVA iGEM team was able to successfully work in the lab while following both COVID-19 and general lab regulations.
Over the summer, all work was effectively completed through various scheduled Zoom calls, including daily committee meetings, conversations with advisors, discussions with experts, the use of numerous online resources (link to resource hub), and much more. In addition, this method of communication through Zoom was maintained throughout the fall.
Safe Project Design
The main objective in maintaining safety in design was making sure all organisms and parts were well contained and would put everyone involved at a minimal level of risk. This was done by using a very low risk strain - BL21(DE3) E. coli from NEB - as well as doing extensive research into all of the necessary parts.
The main risk was the use of HIV Reverse Transcriptase, which is used in nature to reverse transcribe the Human Immunodeficiency Virus’s genomic RNA into dsDNA to be integrated into the genome. The part we are using comes from a plasmid rather than the live virus, and is being used to produce genetically encoded oligo nucleotides in living bacteria. We filled out the adequate Check-In form for iGEM, as well as for our own institution, and certified that HIV-RT is not toxic to humans, not a virulence factor, does not pose any risks as an isolated part, and that we altered the backbone and promoters of the sub-units we are using to decrease promoter strength and place it on a lac operator, effectively containing any risk. Our request to conduct research with HIV-RT was approved by the IRB, and our lab space was appropriate for its handling. Research with this part has been safely conducted with this part in the past, and we follow the procedure from a particular paper related to our project to replicate their proven safety measures.
Other lesser risks were mitigated by planning standard safety measures into our lab procedures, such as wearing protective equipment and regularly cleaning surfaces used to develop our project. All other components chosen for our proof-of-concept were determined to pose a minimal risk and were utilized with standard precautions as described in the Safety Form. Our institution has approves our activities and validated our assessment that our context-specific risks are minimal and standard containment protocols are sufficient to prevent danger to the team or the greater environment.
Safe Lab Work
In the Fall, the Virginia iGEM Team was fortunate enough to get access to a BSL-2 laboratory, following all iGEM, University of Virginia, and general laboratory specifications.
Students and advisors who entered the lab wore appropriate PPE, including a mask, goggles, a lab coat, and gloves. In addition, only three team members were allowed in the lab at once, adhering to both the general laboratory regulation of there needing to be more than one person in the lab and the UVA COVID-19 regulation of three or fewer people in the lab. This regulation was successfully adhered to through strategic planning and effective communication amongst team members and advisors, including, but not limited to, scheduling on a google calendar, individually swiping into the laboratory, and logging out once all work is completed.
In addition, all team members that worked in the lab were required to complete 4 safety training before being allowed into the lab. These lab safety trainings were: “Bloodborne Pathogen and BioSafety Training for Research Personnel”, “Autoclaving Safely”, “Chemical Safety and Waste Training for Students”, and “Chemical Storage”. With these trainings, team members were prepared to address any issues that might arise while working in the lab.
As previously mentioned, the chassis of our device was BL21 (DE3) Escherichia coli . This organism is classified as Risk Group 1, and was accommodated by the use of a BSL-2 Lab.
More detailed safety precautions and information can be found here, on our updated iGEM Safety Form and additional part information .
