CYTO 2026 Scientific Tutorial: How to develop and implement a biosafety plan for a cytometry lab

How to develop and implement a biosafety plan for a cytometry lab

Presenters:
Sherry Thornton, PhD, Professor, Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Evan Jellison, PhD, Associate Professor & Director of Flow Cytometry, UCONN School of Medicine
Jessica Back, PhD, Director of Research Cores and Director, Microscopy, Imaging and Cytometry Resources (MICR) Core, Karmanos Cancer Institute/Wayne State University
Kristen Reifel, PhD, Independent Consultant, KMR Scientific

Abstract:

This tutorial will provide guidance on how to develop and implement a biosafety plan with an in-depth focus on risk assessment.

The biosafety plan contains essential information regarding the risks of working with biological samples, including the use of specific instrumentation, and the steps that should be taken to mitigate these risks. Risk assessment is a critical component of biosafety where the likelihood of occurrence of an undesirable incident (e.g., exposure to infectious samples) and the consequences if that incident were to occur (e.g., infection or disease) are determined.  Establishment of a biosafety plan for a cytometry lab, especially a flow cytometry shared resource laboratory (SRL), can be a daunting task as projects often involve a diverse variety of pathogens that may change over time. The biosafety plan should integrate and synthesize information necessary to safely handle these pathogens determined through a risk assessment. Having a plan that can adapt to a variety of pathogens will provide a framework for addressing concerns and educating personnel and users with variable experience levels on biosafety practices. Key to generating an effective biosafety plan is identifying and using available resources, as well as developing a robust relationship with health and safety personnel at your institution. In this tutorial we will provide the basic underlying structure of a biosafety plan and discuss how the risk assessment process is incorporated into the biosafety plan.

Learning objectives:

How to develop a biosafety plan using the risk assessment process that can accommodate changing pathogens.
How to assess biological risks related to cytometric evaluation.
How to implement an effective biosafety plan and address potential changing variables.

Keywords: Shared Resource Lab Operations, Biosafety, Management, Risk Assessment

CMLE Credit: 1.5