Category: EHSO
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Beat The Heat: Preventing Heat Injuries at Emory
As summer temperatures rise, the risk of heat-related illnesses increases for Emory University faculty, students, and staff. Whether you are working outdoors or in an indoor environment having temperatures in excess of 80°F, it is crucial to recognize the signs of heat stress and take preventive measures to stay safe. Understanding Heat Stress Heat stress,…
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Environmental Health and Safety Office Updates (February 2025)
Authors: Kalpana Rengarajan, PhD & Rashida Moore DVM DCLAM The Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) is working on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institute of Health (NIH) driven initiatives including downgrading of biocontainment requirements for SARS CoV-2 work and new guidelines for Dual Use Research of Concern. Also included is…
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Gene Drive: Risks and Benefits
Authors: Kalpana Rengarajan, PhD; Rashida Moore, DVM, DACLAM Gene drives refer to genetic elements that skew the pattern of inheritance of a given characteristic in sexually reproducing organisms. They can be used to spread a characteristic that can alter or even reduce the numbers of individuals in wild populations of a certain species. As they…
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H5 Avian Influenza Virus Exemption
Authors: Kalpana Rengarajan, PhD & Rashida Moore, DVM Select agents are biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to both human and animal health, plant health, or to animal and plant products. These materials are regulated by the Federal Select Agent Program, under 7 CFR Part 331, 9 CFR…
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World Health Organization SARS-CoV-2 Guidance – Biosafety Updates
Authors: Kalpana Rengarajan, PhD, Director Research Safety, EHSO & Rashida Moore, DVM, DACLAM, Assistant Director, EHSO/Asc Staff Vet Scientist, EPC The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published interim guidance on laboratory biosafety related to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The guidance includes updated recommendations for research and shipping procedures and reflects the latest SARS-CoV-2 scientific knowledge. The guidance…
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Biological Safety Protocol Electronic Submission
Author: Scott Thomaston, AVP, EHSO For the last several years the Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) has been utilizing software named BioRAFT as an electronic platform for investigators to submit their Biosafety protocols. Recently BioRaft has been rebranded and is now SciShield. Aside from the name change the software remains the same, including the…
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Dual Use of Research Concern
By Scott Thomaston, Assistant Vice President, EHSO Some biological agents used in research are considered to be Dual Use of Research Concern (DURC) because of their ability to be used both for benevolent purposes or modified in such a way as to present risk to public health and safety, agriculture, animals, and the environment. This…
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High Containment Laboratory Program
Author: Scott Thomaston, AVP, EHSO The commissioning of the Health Sciences Research Building Phase 2 (HSRB2) brings a significant increase in Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) and Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL3) capacity to our research community. This addition of 12 high containment labs significantly adds to our ability to work with infectious biological agents that…
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EHSO Information Technology Upgrade
Author: Scott Thomaston, AVP, EHSO As part of the ORA Information Technology modernization initiative, the Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) continues to refine and consolidate data management systems to eliminate redundancy, decrease inaccuracies and better inform critical decisions. A significant step in this process is the expanded use of the Environmental Health and Safety…