New equipment and protocols will turbocharge the Rutgers Regional Biocontainment Lab’s effort to comprehend and combat hazardous pathogens such as tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2.Extensive renovation will make the aging facility at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School — one of 12 Regional Biocontainment Laboratories (RBLs) nationwide — a state-of-the-art magnet for academic and commercial research projects.
Faster employee training and project review protocols will be developed to help the lab and its partners increase valuable discoveries. “The nation’s RBLs were created to combat potential bioweapons after Sept. 11 and the 2001 anthrax attacks, and they’re starting to show their age. We have equipment that can’t be fixed because no one still makes the parts,” said RBL Director David Alland. “The COVID-19 pandemic vividly illustrated the need for more contagious disease research and brought new funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to RBLs like ours. Renovation and expansion are underway as we work to become more efficient at routine processes.” To read the full story.