The mission of the Biosafety Core is two-fold. First and foremost, the core provides a fully managed, equipped, and safe working environment for the study of HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and other infectious pathogens. Secondly, the core actively develops state-of-the-art molecular methodologies for assessment of host/pathogen interactions for translational applications, such as the development of real-time quantitative PCR methodologies for the study of HIV replication and diversity in research samples. In addition, the core personnel have assumed the responsibility for training all users in good laboratory practices, periodic retraining to assure compliance with laboratory regulations, and providing services to promote research by all investigators in the CWRU/UHC research community. Dedicated BL-3 and BL-2+ laboratories are located across from each other on the 10th floor of the Biomedical Research Building in the Division of Infectious Diseases. A five-member Biosafety Committee meets to supervise safety procedures, and a six-member Scientific Team meets to determine developmental direction by the core on a quarterly basis. The activities of this core are essential to the success of CFAR, as both safety in investigation of biohazardous pathogens and development of new methodologies to assess host/HIV interactions constitute key elements in the AIDS research efforts at CWRU/UHC. The unique aspects of the core (i.e., the ability to study the interaction between HIV and virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis), underscores the importance of this core as a major research strength of the CWRU/UHC CFAR.
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