Facility Management, Maintenance and Operations Core

PROJECT ABSTRACT (Core 1/C1Facilities@HTRL) Core 1 Facility Management, Maintenance and Operations Core (C1Facilities@HTRL) The Facility Management, Maintenance, and Operations Core will operate the Howard T Ricketts Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (HTRL) A/BSL3 to ensure continuous containment through decontamination, retesting, certification, preventive maintenance, repair, or replacement of existing equipment and building systems as well as compliance with Biosecurity, Environmental Health and Biosafety regulations. Central to this facility's past and future success is the collective approach of HTRL management which involves four distinct entities: Animal Resources Center, the Office of Research Safety, Facility Operations, and the Department of Microbiology. The HTRL management team is composed of outstanding leaders in their respective fields, and they utilize their expertise collaboratively to support the HTRL program with the common goal of assuring research programs are safe and successful. This approach has allowed the building to operate efficiently since its initial construction. This management structure is centered on supporting the research labs using the A/BSL3 to allow them to focus on their experimental objective, while biosafety and operational management are maintained by C1Facilities@HTRL. The core management team maintains the A/BSL3 rooms, equipment, and operations at the highest level to meet or exceed the regulatory and best-practice standards for biosafety, animal care, and research support. Furthermore, the team maintains the facility at a high level of readiness to support ongoing and future research needs of the facility, and to adapt to the needs presented by public health emergencies such as occurred with the establishment of the COVID-19 Core.