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, members of CNPEM’s Biosafety team wear biosafety level 3 laboratory protective gear while simulating high biological containment training using playful elements. The Center currently offers a Training & Capacity-Building Program focused on BSL-3 laboratories (Credits: Guilherme Galembeck/CNPEM)
Registration is now open for a new edition of the Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratory Training & Capacity Building Program offered by the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM). 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 will be accepted from June 29 to July 24, 2026. Selected applicants will be notified by email on July 29 and must confirm their participation by August 4, 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 24, 2026
- Notification of selected applicants (by email): July 29, 2026
- Participation confirmation deadline: August 4, 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.
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
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.
