Member Highlights

The RAV3N Network was invited to present at the 1st Biosafety and Biosecurity Symposium on High-Containment Biological Environments, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from October 29 to 31 and hosted by the Institute Bio-Manguinhos / Fiocruz- one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in Latin America.

This symposium aimed to bring together scientists, biosafety professionals and industry partners involved in the development of effective biosafety, biosecurity and quality assurance to share experiences and discuss current and future challenges related to biosecurity.

Dr. Renata Landers, RAV3N Program Manager, provided an overview of network activities and accomplishments as well as highlighted RAV3N as a model of a high containment network that could be replicated in other countries.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share about the RAV3N network with colleagues in the same field and to visit a renowned institution in Brazil.

Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz - English - Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz || Public Health Innovation

The 3-day workshop hosted by the Operations, Biosafety and Biorisk Working Group of RAV3N took place in College Station and Galveston, Texas on September 24-26, 2024 and convened experts from across the RAV3N network to discuss many biocontainment facility related topics and issues related to operational standing up and maintenance of these complex facilities. In addition to the roundtable discussions on diverse topics in maintenance and lessons learned in biocontainment facilities, our members also had the opportunity to tour the Texas A&M University Global Health Research Complex and the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston National Laboratory.

Our sincere appreciation to RAV3N members for the great discussions and for sharing their knowledge and experience with colleagues!

The 2024 RAV3N Annual Meeting was hosted by The Ohio State University, Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research Facility in Wooster, Ohio from August 13-15.

The 2.5 day meeting brought together experts from across the RAV3N Network to discuss the latest developments in biocontainment research, transboundary and emerging diseases, biorisk and response preparedness. The program also included member presentations highlighting updates and research accomplishments from their institutions, a panel discussion about the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak in dairy cattle, and a poster session.

It was great to see many RAV3N members networking and forming new collaborations! 

For the second consecutive year, RAV3N (Research Alliance for Veterinary Science and Biodefense BSL-3 Network) was thrilled to host an outreach event entitled “Introduction to Biocontainment Research” which taught high school students from across the country about biocontainment research and its benefits. They received an overview of biocontainment research and its benefits to humans and animals, as well as learned about career opportunities in this field.

The 41 students were attending a summer camp held by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Veterinary Science Certificate Program (VSCP). The students also had the opportunity to perform hands-on activities in the training lab including donning and doffing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), entry/exit procedures for BSL-3 laboratories, and testing out their pipetting skills at the lab bench.

The Research Alliance for Veterinary Science and Biodefense BSL-3 Network (RAV3N) hosted a BSL-3 Necropsy Workshop at the USDA National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa from April 29-May 2, 2024. The workshop brought together 22 RAV3N members working in high containment facilities to learn best practices for necropsy in ABSL-3Ag containment and discuss challenges and lessons learned from different facilities across the network. The workshop focused on performing necropsies in the biocontainment environment for a variety of livestock species used in infectious disease research, such as small ruminants, swine and poultry. The 2.5-day workshop consisted of didactic lectures, followed by hands-on activities. The participants also had the opportunity to practice entry and exit in a mock laboratory to practice biosafety procedures that would be required for working under BSL-3 conditions. Some of the topics discussed during this workshop were technical specifications for entry/exit in ABSL-3Ag, personal protective equipment (PPE) considerations, sharps handling and equipment, species-specific necropsy procedures, handling and processing of post-mortem samples, waste management, carcass disposal, and disinfection. The participants found the workshop to be highly valuable in that it taught new skills and techniques that they will bring back to their respective institutions. It was great to see our network members at this productive workshop sponsored by USDA.

Validating the inactivation of viral pathogens with a focus on SARS-CoV-2 to safely transfer samples from high-containment laboratories

Volume 14, March 2024

https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2024.1292467