The information provided here should be very helpful for any new principal investigators or laboratory managers and also for any existing ones. It is intended to help in orienting you to your overall requirements as the responsible party for the research space assigned to you and your responsibilities for those performing research in your labs.
- Welcome Letter for New Principal Investigators
- Your EHS Safety Advisor
- Researcher Competency Verification
- Information for New Principal Investigators Webpage
- Responsibilities
- Recombinant/Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules Research Guidance
- Biohazard Risk Assessment Guidance
- Emergency Procedures
Welcome Letter for New Principal Investigators
This is a comprehensive document outlining all of the major responsibilities, registrations, trainings, and other requirements for laboratory research. View the Welcome Letter for New Principal Investigators.
Your EHS Safety Advisor
Yale EHS has designated a representative from our office to be the first point of contact for safety information for your laboratory. If you have not met your safety advisor (SA), you use the Find Your Safety Advisor search.
You can also call the Yale EHS Office at 203-785-3550 to get contact information for your SA.
Your EHS SA will perform the annual lab inspections for your lab areas and will hold at least one meeting per year with you, your lab manager or other lab representative to review all past, present, and future research to help ensure that you have all the appropriate registrations and approvals. Your SA will be involved in evaluating injuries and exposures and participate in any required follow-up needed. They also will be responsible for connecting you with other EHS subject matter experts whenever needed.
Researcher Competency Verification
A critical requirement for all principal investigators is ensuring that all of the researchers working in their laboratory are trained, have the ability to gain hands-on experience with the lab techniques, are aware of all of the hazards and risks of the materials handled in the lab, and have been trained on all emergency response protocols. Documentation of these requirements is even more imperative.
The Researcher Competence Verification Form has been created to help principal investigators document these important elements. You can use this form for all researchers in your laboratory.
We have also developed a Principal Investigator Responsibilities Checklist to help augment the competency verification form. Both documents can assist with ensuring the duties of the principal investigator have been achieved.
Information for New Principal Investigators Webpage
EHS’s webpage for New Principal Investigators and the additional links below provide details on how to comply with Yale University’s personal protective equipment policies, a major responsibility of principal investigators.
Responsibilities
- Yale Biological Safety Manual (biosafety responsibilities for each principal investigator start on page 1-1)
- NIH Guidelines
- Information for Laboratory Principal Investigators
- Principal Investigator Orientation to Yale Biological Safety Manual
Recombinant/Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molucules Research Guidance
- RDNA Animal Experiments Covered Under the NIH Guidelines
- Recombinant DNA Experiments Registration and Approval Guidelines
- Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid (R/SNA) Molecules
- Risk Groups and Biosafety Levels for Research Involving Recombinant and Synthetic Nucleic Acid (R/SNA) Molecules
- Table of Experiments Described in the NIH Guidelines by Section and Example
- Protocol Tracing for Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Protocols*
*This document illustrates all of the steps that are involved from the initiation of a research project until it is approved, including any required follow up. Your EHS registration documents help you complete all of your requirements, but this document provides you with a broad spectrum overview of the life of a research protocol. Please contact your Safety Advisor if you have any questions regarding the protocol tracing pathway.
Biohazard Risk Assessment Guidance
Section 5 of the Yale Biosafety Manual provides an overview of risk assessment for research involving biohazards and how to manage the risk.
The following documents are offered to supplement the risk assessment process for principal investigators:
Health Canada has also provided a very detailed assessment checklist for biohazard risk. Please refer to this for additional information when planning research with biohazards.
Emergency Procedures
Visit EHS’s Emergency Procedures webpage for a summary of a full spectrum of laboratory emergency response protocols. Also ensure that any researchers who are injured contact CorVel, Yale’s worker compensation vendor, to report the incident after seeking emergency assistance at Yale Acute Care. CorVel can be reached at: 1-833-400-7222.