Lab Matters Fall 2024 | Page 50

APHL 2024 POSTER ABSTRACTS

BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY

Echoing Biosafety Around the World – Implementation of a Global Biosafety Community of Practice

A . Araujo , S . DeBose , A . Violette , G . Xiang , A . Marshall , A . Wrushen , K . Nhim , V . De Jesus , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Clinical and public health laboratories ( PHLs ) are essential in protecting the country ’ s health . To accomplish this , laboratory professionals must conduct accurate and timely testing while keeping themselves , the environment and the community they serve safe . Opportunities to discuss safety challenges are rare among laboratory professionals . Consequently , laboratory professionals may feel isolated , which may affect the institution ’ s culture of safety behaviors and practices . To address this challenge , we developed a community of practice ( CoP ) curriculum for PHL professionals based on the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes ( ECHO ) Model . In January 2023 , we launched the Biosafety CoP with PHL professionals ’ participation , including biosafety officers affiliated with organizations in each state and territory within the US . Our goal is to address critical challenges in clinical and PHLs by increasing biosafety knowledge and skills and to stimulate active discussion among laboratory professionals . We invited 75 laboratory biosafety professionals in the US and territories to participate in 11 monthly virtual ECHO sessions from January to November 2023 . An additional 70 biosafety professionals , including seven from outside the US , learned about the ECHO Biosafety sessions through their networks and requested to participate . Each session lasted up to 90 minutes and included a didactic presentation provided by a subject matter expert and a real case discussion where presenters and participants shared their knowledge and experience . The audio recording , slides , transcript and additional resources were posted on the CDC ECHO Biosafety website . By the end of 2023 , we analyzed data from the first 6-month post session survey to gauge participants ’ ability to apply what they learned during sessions 1-5 . Session topics were : 1 ) Laboratory Professional Burnout and Effect on Safety , 2 ) Risk Assessment in Clinical Laboratories , 3 ) Safely Implementing New Diagnostic Platforms in Clinical Laboratories , 4 ) Decontamination of Laboratory Equipment and 5 ) PPE Use . On average , 33 participants attended each of the live sessions carried out from January to May . Twenty-six ( 33 % response rate ) responded to the six-month post-session survey . Overall , 40 % ( 1 ), 50 % ( 2 ), 41 % ( 3 ), 44 % ( 4 ) and 46 % ( 5 ) agreed that they have used information from the session to identify biosafety areas for improvement . Additionally , 13 % ( 1 ), 13 % ( 2 ), 18 % ( 3 ), 25 % ( 4 ) and 31 % ( 5 ) agreed that they have reviewed processes and procedures in their laboratory to determine if they are up to date . Furthermore , 47 % ( 1 ), 31 % ( 2 ), 29 % ( 3 ), 31 % ( 4 ) and 38 % ( 5 ) agreed that they are better prepared to discuss biosafety challenges they encounter . As of January 10 , 2024 , the ECHO Biosafety website had 2,500 + views and the resources for each session have been cumulatively downloaded 1,700 + times . The ECHO Biosafety CoP increased in size by 93 % within one year , reaching 145 laboratory professionals affiliated with 67 organizations located across 42 US states and territories and seven organizations overseas . The ECHO Biosafety Program has supported PHL professionals in improving biosafety operations and strengthening laboratory capacity . Thus , the ECHO

Biosafety CoP can be an effective method to share lessons learned and best practices on laboratory safety worldwide .

Presenter : Aufra Araujo , aka8 @ cdc . gov

Empower , Equip , Excel : Training Opportunities for Biosafety Professionals

M . Marsico 1 , S . Chester 1 , M . Downing 2 , Association of Public Health Laboratories 1 , American Biological Safety Association ( ABSA )

International 2

This poster will highlight in-person and virtual training opportunities from the Association of Public Health Laboratories ( APHL ) and our partners including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and the American Biological Safety Association ( ABSA ). Training opportunities such as the in-person APHL technical workshops , future leadership workshops and virtual webinars will be highlighted as well as the CDC ’ s Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes ( ECHO ) Biosafety Project , which addresses challenges in clinical and public health laboratories through the development of a community of practice ( CoP ).

Presenter : Stormy Chester , stormy . chester @ aphl . org

Piloting the ISO 35001 Standard : Cruising Towards Biorisk Management

M . Marsico 1 , S . Chester 1 , E . Kopp 2 , M . Pentella 3 , Association of Public Health Laboratories 1 , Bureau of Public Health Laboratories- Tampa 2 , Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory 3

Released in 2019 , the ISO 35001 standard provides a framework for developing and implementing a biorisk management program . APHL , in collaboration with the CDC , has developed a strategy to provide guidance for public health laboratories ( PHLs ) interested in ISO 35001 implementation and has successfully piloted the implementation of ISO 35001 at two PHLs through the summer of 2023 .

The pilot project consisted of :

1 . An initial site visit utilizing the CDC / APHL / Gap Analysis Checklist to identify gaps in each institution ’ s processes related to biorisk management

2 . Virtual meetings to discuss and outline solutions for ISO 35001 implementation

3 . A final site visit at the close of the project to review each pilot ’ s implementation steps In this poster , there will be a brief overview of the standard and why it is important , along with insights from both pilot PHLs including lessons learned and next steps towards additional PHLs implementing the standard .

Presenter : Michael Marsico , michael . marsico @ aphl . org