GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY (MCB) CORE FACILITY
DTS
BUILDING
The MCB Core Laboratory is a Faculty of Medicine facility, which houses expensive and frequently needed multipurpose equipment. It is made available to all researchers at AUB, however members from other Faculties than Medicine must contact Dr. Fadia Homaidan (DTS Bldg, Room 2-37, Ext: 4892, fh01@aub.edu.lb) to be instructed on the procedure for using the core facility.
The following are a list of
general regulations that should be followed seriously. Regulations for special
procedures will be dealt with whenever needed with Dr. Homaidan.
1. All Principal Investigators (PI’s) must inform Dr. Homaidan of the new core lab users from his/her laboratory. The new users will be made familiar with the different facilities available for their work and will be given a list of instructions that they have to abide with.
2. All users have to be thoroughly trained by PI’s (or trained professionals) for the use of every equipment in the core labs. Contact Dr. Homaidan to inquire about who is qualified to train users.
3. Users who are not trained or not registered to use the core will be asked to leave the facility until the proper procedures are followed.
4. All users have to sign for the use of the equipment (date and time needed) ahead of time. If the user does not show up 15 minutes after the signed time, other researchers can use the equipment in question. It is left to the discretion of the latter group to call the signed user and alert him/her to the fact that they intend to use the equipment.
5. All users must sign on the logbook assigned for each piece of equipment after using it. This is extremely important since servicing the machine is dependent on the time it is being used. In this logbook the following information is needed:
a. Time the equipment is turned on.
b. Name of the Operator and the name of the principal investigator in charge.
c. Start time and end time.
d. Any relevant remarks such as change of accessories (again the time and the name of the operator must be included).
e. Time the machine is switched off.
f. Signature of the operator along with the date.
6. A Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) document is posted next to each instrument. All users are expected to adhere to those procedures.
7. All users have to keep the benches, pipettes and the pipette-aids clean. All items must be returned to their appropriate place after use. All equipment used during an experiment must be cleaned directly after the experiment is finished. Do not rely on anybody else to clean up after you. Each user is responsible for discarding any waste collected during their experiment.
8. None of the users are allowed to handle other people’s experiments or supplies without prior permission.
9. Gloves should be used while handling carcinogens, toxins and chemicals (and of course radioactivity). To avoid multiple site contaminations, however, gloves should not be worn while answering phones, opening doors, opening fridge doors etc.
10. Please follow the instructions on the usage of the equipment. If assistance is needed, please check with Ms. Koharig Bajakian, ext. 4875 (Protein Chemistry Core Facility).
11. If any of the equipment is not working, please report the problem immediately to Ms. Koharig to alert Dr. Homaidan.
12. Be considerate for those who will be using the facility after you. The following list contains SOME EXAMPLES of the proper procedure expected to be followed:
a. Fill the alcohol bottle after your use it whether it is your turn to do it or not. DO NOT LEAVE IT EMPTY.
b. Replace the sign-up sheet if needed. Do not wait for the next user to do that.
c. Replace the garbage bag if needed. Do not let it overflow and most importantly, do not wait for the person responsible for the facility to come and change it for you.
d. Do not use the wrong type or size of X-Ray film in the X-OMAT.
e. Follow the instructions of the specific sub-facility you are working in.
f. Make sure that the water bath is cleaned regularly. Do not leave it dirty only because it is not your turn to clean it.
g. If you spill anything in the laboratory, whether it is on the floor, in the water bath, on the benches, in the hybridization ovens, or in fridges, inform the other users and make sure you clean the spill directly. Unless it is radioactive spill you are expected to do the cleanup right after the spillage takes place. DO NOT WAIT till your experiment is done!!!!
h. Clean the benches and if needed, the floor, after you are finished with your experiment.
i. Do not have social gatherings in the labs.
13. Absolutely no mouth pipetting, food, drink or smoking is allowed in any laboratory. Furthermore, no food and drink are to be stored in any of the facilities.
14. Alert the supervisor in the specific sub-facility if there are any problems, no matter how trivial.
15. Different people were assigned to supervise each core facility. They will be responsible for receiving supplies for the common areas, training new users for certain equipment or procedure, and supervising the smooth running of the facility. The following names are to assume responsibility starting November 2002. The names of the faculty members in charge of the facility are in parentheses
Cell Culture Facility (Third Floor) Iman Chakroun (Bazarbachi)
Cell Culture Facility (Fourth Floor) Rihab Nasr (Bazarbachi)
Radioactive Room Sawsan Araysi (Homaidan)
X-OMAT room Hilda Khoury (Homaidan)
Molecular Biology Facility Yola Bou-Moughlabey
and Lina Kuzhaya (Homaidan)
Protein Facility Koharig Bajakian (Usta)
Ordering and receiving liquid N2 Hilda Khoury and Lina Kuzhaya
Biological Imaging (Sabban)
16. If the above named people are not present when supplies are delivered, other users must receive the supplies and make sure copies of the invoices are given to the person responsible.
17. Always provide a copy of invoices and receipts to Hala Kaidbey (Dr. Sabra’s office) for budgeting and record keeping.
18. If people who are responsible for certain tasks are going to be away from the facility for an extended period of time, please make sure you inform Dr. Homaidan to assign another user for that particular task.
19. Since the equipment in the core labs is meant to be readily available for any member of our scientific community, it is essential that all equipment that belong to the core facility be kept in their assigned places and not allowed out of the lab. If you have any of the core equipment, please return them promptly.
20. For safety reasons, no operator may work alone in the Lab at any time.
21. Individuals who repeatedly abuse the facility will be denied the privilege of using the facilities in the future.