Difference between revisions of "Team:Waterloo/Safety"

Canada has well established Biosafety Regulations & Guidelines to regulate research practices. These practices can be found at the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

All operations within the University of Waterloo, the host institution, are regulated by the University of Waterloo's Safety Office. The regulations set out by the Canadian Biosafety Regulations & Guidelines affects the practices of the University. The University of Waterloo Safety Office, including the University of Waterloo Lab Safety Committee, has certified our host laboratory for the intended research. We follow the Biosafety Programs & Procedures set out by the Safety Office.

The team operated out of a host laboratory to ensure team members are supervised and well supported throughout the project. Our team performs all laboratory work in a host laboratory under the supervision of the Masters and PhD students as well as the host Faculty Member, Dr. Trevor Charles. The permits obtained by the parent laboratory cover the project carried out in the laboratory.

Our team members have completed the following training modules and procedures to prepare for working in the lab:

1. University of Waterloo Workplace Violence and Harassment Training
2. University of Waterloo General Laboratory Safety
3. University of Waterloo Laboratory Biosafety Training
4. University of Waterloo Biosafety Guidelines
5. Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

Strain Considerations: In order to avoid using a pathogenic chassis, the majority of our work was done using E. coli (strain level I). Although our project design was such that we would not require contact with level II pathogens, we did receive biosafety training on their handling as a precaution.

Yeast Strain Use: Along with strains of E. coli, members conducted laboratory experiments involving the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae is used as a probiotic in humans and is a very uncommon cause of infection in humans. It was agreed between team leads and advisors that the standard biosafety training was sufficient for proper training in getting starting with working with S. cerevisiae. Any further training with yeast cells was provided to members throughout the term.