Training will take place in November 2026 and prepares professionals to work in high-containment laboratories through a simulation environment that replicates BSL-3 and BSL-4 facilities.
In the photo, member of CNPEM’s Biosafety team wear biosafety level 3 laboratory protective gear while simulating high biological containment training using playful elements. (Credits: Guilherme Galembeck/CNPEM)
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) has extended the application period for a new edition of its Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratory Training & Capacity-Building Program. The training will take place from November 9 to 13, 2026, and is aimed primarily at professionals and researchers from Brazil’s North and Northeast regions.
The initiative is part of CNPEM’s efforts to strengthen human resource development in biosafety and prepare professionals to work in high-containment laboratories, contributing to advances in pathogen research in Brazil.
Applications, originally scheduled to close on July 24, have been extended and will now remain open until July 29, 2026. Selected applicants will be notified by email on August 5 and must confirm their participation by August 10, 2026.
The program combines theoretical instruction with hands-on practical activities conducted in a mock-up training laboratory that faithfully replicates BSL-3 and BSL-4 facilities. Participants practice operational procedures and biosafety protocols in a safe environment, without handling infectious materials, under the supervision of specialized professionals.
Schedule
- Application period: June 29 to July 29, 2026
- Notification of selected applicants (by email): August 5, 2026
- Participation confirmation deadline: August 10, 2026
- Training Program: November 9–13, 2026
How to apply
Interested applicants must complete the application form available on the Program webpage within the application period specified in the schedule. Places are limited, and the selection process will follow the criteria established in the call for applications.
About the Program
Even before the inauguration of the Orion project — a laboratory complex dedicated to advanced research on pathogens — CNPEM is conducting a Training & Capacity Building Program in high and, very soon, maximum biological containment infrastructures, unprecedented in Brazil. Aimed at developing human resources in competencies that are still limited in Brazil and other Latin American countries, this initiative seeks to support the training of potential future Orion users and to enhance the qualifications of teams already engaged in research and development involving pathogens.
The Program includes theoretical activities and practical sessions carried out in a training laboratory — a mock-up space that faithfully replicates the real facilities of BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories. In this simulated environment, researchers in training can practice safety protocols without handling infectious materials or facing any risk of exposure, under the supervision of professionals dedicated to conducting individual assessments of biosafety procedures.
Project Orion
Project Orion will be a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research, and will include Latin America's first maximum biological containment level facilities (BSL-4), the only labs of this kind in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius. Currently under construction in the city of Campinas, São Paulo on the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) campus, this project will combine analytic techniques and advanced competencies in bioimaging which will be open to the scientific community and public agencies. By permitting advances in knowledge on pathogens and related diseases, Orion will support health surveillance activities and policies, as well as the development of diagnostic methods, vaccines, treatments, and epidemiological strategies. Orion will support national sovereignty in facing health crises, and has the potential to benefit various areas such as health, science and technology, defense, and the environment. The implementation of Project Orion is overseen by CNPEM, a social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), with the involvement of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM's research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology.
