# Core 2: BSL-3 Practices Core

> **NIH NIH UC7** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $895,157

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – BSL-3 Practices Core (Core 2)
The central mission of the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory Network is to provide a location and an
environment in which groundbreaking research on potentially dangerous pathogens can be performed safely.
As anyone with the responsibility of managing a leading BSL-3/ABSL-3 facility such as the Duke RBL will
attest, it is critical to imbue a culture of safety in which all individuals seek continuous improvement and
refinement of best practices. This culture of constant improvement must be sustained through the inevitable
turnover of staff that occurs in any long-standing facility, and while it is difficult to codify, we pride ourselves on
providing a cordial and supportive environment in which ideas for improvement by all members of the team are
welcomed. Viewed through this lens, the practices and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that define the
Duke RBL are continuously being refined and improved. Since the opening of the facility in 2007, the Duke
RBL has led the field with a world class safety team dedicated to providing safe, secure, and compliant
research through managing SOPs, conducting a rigorous training program, and assessments of performance.
Support from this grant will allow for the further enhancement of these programs through warm-readiness and
additional dedicated safety staff. Specific aims for this proposal are to 1) establish and maintain procedures for
safe and compliant research at BSL-3/ABSL-3; 2) provide biosafety theory education with hands-on instruction
for all personnel entering BSL-3/ABSL-3 for work with Select Agents; and 3) ensure continuous compliance
with established procedures by conducting routing biosafety/security audits and drills. The ability to maintain
and expand these robust safety programs to account for novel pathogens is critical for investigators to
adequately prepare for the next pandemic.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10910126
- **Project number:** 5UC7AI180254-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Scott Alderman
- **Activity code:** UC7 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $895,157
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-18 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10910126

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10910126, Core 2: BSL-3 Practices Core (5UC7AI180254-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10910126. Licensed CC0.

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