# VCU Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program (IMSD)

> **NIH NIH R25** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $83,116

## Abstract

Project Summary
Laboratory safety is an essential component of biomedical research and the training of
undergraduate and graduate students. Safety training should ideally occur both prior to entry into a
laboratory and continuously throughout laboratory training. Understanding the importance of a
culture of safety is an essential life lesson for those who plan to make biomedical research their
career. In the first aim we will develop six state-of-the-art and culturally inclusive safety videos in
collaboration with our Safety and Risk Management office and Academic Media Laboratory to
augment and expand current safety training including addressing the importance of a culture of
safety. Training modules using video and animation will be created to provide engaging learning
specifically for undergraduate and graduate students in mind. We will use best practices to create
effective videos and pay particular attention to cognitive load, student engagement and active learning.
We then aim to evaluate the process and outcomes of our videos with creators and students using focus
group interviews and the Kirkpatrick Four-Level (reaction, learning, behavior, and results) Training
Evaluation Model. The evaluation will be used to assess learning effectiveness regarding the trainees’
knowledge, skills and behavior as well as the process of creating the videos. Our last aim will be to
disseminate this resource as wide as possible. It will be a valuable resource not only for our own
institution but will be shared with local Historically Black Colleges and Universities partner schools and
distributed nationally through the Safety Training Consortium. These laboratory safety training videos
will help to train the next generation of diverse biomedical researchers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10154009
- **Project number:** 3R25GM090084-11S1
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** HAMID I AKBARALI
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $83,116
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2010-03-15 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10154009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10154009, VCU Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program (IMSD) (3R25GM090084-11S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10154009. Licensed CC0.

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