CNPEM opens registration for High-Level Biosafety Lab Training and Qualification Program

Applications for free training accepted from October 31 to November 7.

 

 

The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is accepting applications for a High-Level Biosafety Containment (BSL-3) Lab Training and Qualification Program. Applications will be accepted from this Thursday, October 31 until November 7.

This initiative is part of project Orion and will help train potential future users of Orion (a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research) and refine the skills of teams that already work on research and development involving pathogens.

The course will be held November 25–28 at the CNPEM campus in Campinas, São Paulo, in the training lab that simulates BSL-3 and BSL-4 (maximum biosafety containment) facilities.

This training, the first of its kind in Brazil, targets researchers and professionals who work or intend to work in high-level biological containment environments. Researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals at teaching and research institutions may apply.

BSL-3 laboratories are designed for safe handling of class 3 pathogens like the SARS-CoV (the virus that causes Covid-19), HIV, Oropouche, Monkeypox and viruses.

During the course, participants will receive theoretical and hands-on instruction in a safe environment, without manipulating infectious materials or risk of contagion. The training will cover rigorous protocols for biosecurity and techniques that are essential to ensuring safety in BSL-3 labs.

Funded with resources from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), the course will be offered at no cost to approved candidates, with all the necessary materials and equipment included. Participants will, however, be responsible for their own transportation, lodging, and meals.

Eight spaces are being offered for the training; the criteria for the course organizing committee to select the participants include formal relationship with teaching/research institutions, research project related to work in a BSL-3 lab, advisor’s letter of recommendation, letter of interest, and Lattes resume.

The objective of the course is to train professionals in safe laboratory practices, promoting individual and collective protection. The results of the selection process will be announced on Nobember 11.

To register, and for more information, visit https://pages.cnpem.br/treinamentonb3/

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 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 the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The project is part of the federal government’s New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and funded with resources from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT) and MCTI, with support from the Ministry of Health (MS). This initiative is part of the federal government’s New Industry Brazil (NIB) stimulus policy and will serve as an instrument of national sovereignty, competence, and security in the fields of science and technology for research, defense, and human, animal, and environmental health. Orion was also planned to strengthen the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (CEIS), an initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Health and intended to meet priority demands from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS).

About CNPEM

CNPEM is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment with activities within different fronts of the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the MCTI, 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 developing 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.

Event:

Course: BSL-3 Lab Training and Qualification Program
Applications accepted: October 31 to November 7
Selected participants announced: November 11
Course duration: November 25–28
Location: CNPEM campus, Campinas, São Paulo