National Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Training Program About Us Our Services BSL-3 Training Center Meet Our Team Testimonials Courses Laboratory Training Laboratory Operations, Maintenance & Verification Laboratory Certified Trainer Program First Responders & Emergency Management Training Resources & FAQ Contact Us Training Program Interest Form About Us The UCI BSL-3 Training Program strives to expand and fulfill the growing need for highly qualified personnel in support of national and international infectious disease research goals. Home Research Core Facilities BSL-3 > About Us What is the BSL-3 Biosafety Training Program? The goal of the UCI BSL-3 Biosafety Training Program is to provide comprehensive integrated training for all high-containment laboratory personnel groups. The program was developed through nine years of continuous funding support from the Pacific Southwest Regional Center of Excellence (PSWRCE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The training program was instituted to accommodate an important and unmet need of the national and international infectious diseases research community. In 2006, UCI partnered with the National Biosafety & Biocontainment Training Program (NBBTP) to launch a comprehensive training program for biosafety officers & operations and maintenance (O&M) personnel at UCI. Who do we serve? We offer integrated training for high-containment laboratory personnel in operations and support, researchers and biosafety professionals, and first responders. We also review BSL-3 facility design and engineering, testing and performance verification of BSL-3 facilities by ANSI Z9.14 national standard, and consultation for general BSL-3 issues. Operations and Support Theoretical and practical training in a mock-laboratory setting equipped with state-of-the-art HVAC/air handling and building automation systems, effluent decontamination, biosecurity, including biometric systems and video surveillance. Personnel from all skilled trades have the opportunity to learn basic and advanced laboratory systems operation, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting/diagnostics, and laboratory validation in a hands-on practical real-time setting. Researchers and Biosafety Professionals Laboratory personnel and biosafety professionals with oversight responsibilities for high-containment laboratories are trained using a behavioral-based training model. Five-day comprehensive and one-day annual refresher courses are available. First Responders This comprehensive course prepares supervisors within university and city police and fire departments to train their personnel for responding to incidents with BSL3 facilities. This train-the-trainer course is taught within our high-containment training facility. Institutions Served The UCI training concept is based on hybrid models of other training programs with a core concept of applying risk assessment and risk management for all laboratory-associated personnel – from laboratory staff to O&M and emergency first responders. Over three thousand people from across the nation and worldwide have been trained. University of California Campuses Other Academic Institutions Baylor University Duke University New York Medical College Scripps Research Institute Texas A&M University of Alabama University of Hawaii University of Nevada, Reno University of Pennsylvania University of Southern California University of Texas, El Paso Government Groups Army Corps of Engineers Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institutes of Health US Department of Navy US Food & Drug Administration Learn more about Our Services Our BSL-3 Facility Our state-of-the-art, high-containment lab training facility for UCI's BSL-3 Biosafety Training Program received a prestigious NIH National Training Center designation during a May 9, 2016 ribbon cutting ceremony. It is only the third facility in the country to receive this designation. The unique facility, the first of its kind in the nation, is a fully equipped laboratory with functional HVAC engineering that will only be used for training. The lab facility allows practical training in a real-life setting but without the risks from hazardous materials and without the inconvenience of having to shut down and decontaminate fully operational laboratories. Learn More Get to Know Us Meet the UCI BSL-3 Training Program team and our instructors. Meet Our Team