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<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>Before beginning lab work all students working in the lab completed several levels of precautionary measures. All members working in the lab were aware of the potential harms associated with working with DNA isolation reagents, DNA ligase buffers, restriction enzymes, proteinase K and other chemicals. These potential risks were taken care of through our safety measures and they will be explained throughout the rest of this page. </p>
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<h4>Safety and Security Award</h4>
<p>Synthetic biology will need to be used safely and securely if local people are to solve local problems all around the world. The Safety and Security Committee is challenging teams to apply biological engineering approaches to manage risks associated with synthetic biology. Can you take the next step in incremental progress towards knowledge, understanding, and tools that will make the use of synthetic biology safer and more secure?</p>
<p>To compete for the Safety and Security award, please describe your work on this page and also fill out the description on the <ahref="https://competition.igem.org/deliverables/judging-form">judging form</a>.</p>
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<p>Please see the <ahref="https://competition.igem.org/judging/awards">2023 Awards Page</a> for more information.</p>
<listyle="list-style:disc;">All students who were to complete lab work were required to attend a Biosafety Training workshop led by Lillian Seitz the research lab safety training specialist for the Department of Environmental Health and Safety.</li>
<listyle="list-style:disc;">Students also had to complete a quiz on microbiological practices, what to do in the event of an exposure, how to dispose of biohazard waste among other important topics.</li>
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<h2>What should this page contain?</h2>
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<p>On this page of your wiki, you should write about how you are addressing any safety issues in your project. The wiki is a place where you can go beyond the questions on the safety forms, and write about whatever safety topics are most interesting in your project. (You do not need to copy your safety forms onto this wiki page.)</p>
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<p>Please visit the <ahref="https://responsibility.igem.org/safety-policies/introduction">Safety Policies page</a> to find this year's safety requirements & deadlines, and to learn about safe & responsible research in iGEM.</p>
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<h2style="margin-top: 20vh;">In Lab Safety</h2>
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<listyle="list-style:disc;">Our lab team ensured their safety in the BSL-2 lab at the University of Louisville by wearing all the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, lab coats, long pants, and close toed shoes.</li>
<listyle="list-style:disc;">During our time in the lab, we received input and assistance from the lab manager Sabine Waigel and Vennila Arumugam, a senior researcher also working in the Genomics Facility.</li>
<listyle="list-style:disc;">Although we planned to use PFOA (100 ppm) and hydrogen peroxide, we were not able to use them in testing due to time constraints. Nevertheless, PFOA was still stored safely in a chemical containment cabinet.</li>
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<h2>Safe Project Design</h2>
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<p>Does your project include any safety features? Have you made certain decisions about the design to reduce risks? Write about them here! For example:</p>
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<li>Choosing a non-pathogenic chassis</li>
<li>Choosing parts that will not harm humans / animals / plants</li>
<li>Substituting safer materials for dangerous materials in a proof-of-concept experiment</li>
<li>Including an "induced lethality" or "kill-switch" device</li>
<h2style="margin-top: 20vh;">Safety Policies</h2>
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<listyle="list-style:disc;">While conducting our experiment we did not release or deploy genetically modified organisms outside of the lab environment. Our experiment stayed in the lab.</li>
<listyle="list-style:disc;">We did not use any novel antibiotic resistances in our bacteria.</li>
<listyle="list-style:disc;">We only used E. coli strain DH5-alpha purchased from ThermoFisher as the chassis for our gene parts.</li>
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<h2style="margin-top: 20vh;">Safety Example</h2>
<p>While working in the lab, we followed all safety protocols, and we have needed equipment ready.</p>
Two of our team members wearing proper clothing in the lab.
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<h2>Safe Lab Work</h2>
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<p>What safety procedures do you use every day in the lab? Did you perform any unusual experiments, or face any unusual safety issues? Write about them here!</p>
