# BSL-3 Practices Core

> **NIH NIH UC7** · GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $345,533

## Abstract

BSL-3 PRACTICES: ABSTRACT
The BSL-3 Practices core is critical for meeting George Mason University (GMU)’s Biomedical
Research Lab (BRL)’s mission to perform groundbreaking research on emerging infectious
diseases, contribute meaningfully to pandemic preparedness, and be poised to respond timely
to a bioterrorist attack or other national and global emergencies caused by infectious
pathogens. The BRL serves as a center for scientific collaboration to 1) generate advanced
knowledge of pathogen biology and host interaction mechanisms, and 2) evaluate diagnostics,
therapeutics and vaccines. To meet the mission, GMU must have an adequately sized and
trained workforce who can conduct high quality work safely and in compliance with federal
regulations; effectively operate advanced instrumentation; and generate reliable data to support
faster transition of new discoveries to the market.
It is critical that the BRL has a strong BSL-3 Practices core to ensure continued safe conduct of
research in a high containment environment that complies with National Institutes of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Center for Disease Control (CDC), and US Department of
Agriculture (USDA)/Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) regulations.
Creating and sustaining a compliant work environment for pathogen and select agent research
is critical for the health and safety of laboratory operators and to prevent environmental
exposure. The implementation strategies for GMU’s BSL-3 Practices core focus on 1)
enhancing safety training by delivering a consistent, personalized curriculum, 2) implementing
Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) to advance research quality and reproducibility, and 3)
ensuring the BSL-3 research community can effectively utilize advanced research
instrumentation through support and training by experienced members of the BRL applied
research team.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10910213
- **Project number:** 5UC7AI180261-02
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Farhang Alem
- **Activity code:** UC7 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $345,533
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-18 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10910213

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10910213, BSL-3 Practices Core (5UC7AI180261-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10910213. Licensed CC0.

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