SAFETY IN LABORATORY ANIMAL RESEARCH IN THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE, MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY
DISSAYA LOHAVECH
Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Thailand
Even though alternative to laboratory animal using in research like cell line or statistic are preferable, the laboratory animal still be essential for many researches such as physiology studies or new drugs testing and so on. There are many laboratory animal research facilities in Thailand. Most of them are in the academic institutes for example, nine animal laboratories in Mahidol University. The faculty of science, Mahidol University has one facility, Central Animal Facility CAF, for animal research located in Bangkok, Thailand. Now there are first and second level on animal biosafety research done in this facility. The new facility will have an animal biosafety level 3, which will be more concerned about aerosol transmission. The research areas in our facility are related to basic research, therapeutic research, and technical training. The basic researches are from Physiology and Biology and immunology departments. Therapeutic researches are from Physiology, Pharmacology, and Pathobiology. Technical trainings are in-house staff and researcher training, and physician training from Ramathibodi hospital such as microsurgery. In terms of safety, people involved in animal research need to be trained for handling and transport animals, personal hygiene, housekeeping, waste disposal, restrain of animal, and clean cages.
The animal themselves have a risk to infect the people who work with them called zoonosis. The hazards due to animal biting or exposing to infectious animal are unavoidable. Therefore, good microbiological techniques and animal practice are most important in controlling exposure. In the beginning, the animals are sent by the vender, the National Laboratory Animal Centre NLAC, Nakhonpathom, Thailand. The animal transportation can affect to the animal, human and environment if the animal transport automobile is not controlled in temperature, humidity, microbe, ventilation and so on. Fortunately, the NLAC providing mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits can verified the animal quality every single lot and meets the good transportation criteria. After arrival, the well-trained CAF staffs will be responsible for animal care and use to achieve the reliable research results. They are annually trained for technical review and procedure. Apart from that, the young researchers will be trained in SCID 514 course for basic animal experiment before using the animal and supervised by their principal investigator, IACUC (Institutional animal care and use committee) and CAF staffs.
The central animal facility now follows certain guidelines such as Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories BMBL 5th edition, Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals 8th edition, Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Research Animals and Laboratory safety guideline, 3rd edition. Therefore CAF is trying to have standard operating procedures to reduce any wrongness in the animal research. In addition, CAF aims to be approved by AAALAC international in the near future.
CHALLENGES IN MANAGING A LABORATORY
BOON-HUAT BAY AND YEE-GEK CHAN
Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Managing a research laboratory is not an easy task. What are the responsibilities of the laboratory-technologist in charge? Why is mentoring of junior staff an integral part of the scope of work of senior members of the laboratory? What are the things that laboratory users should do or avoid? What are some safety issues that have to be paid attention to? Does effective communication, timely feedback and auditing enhance laboratory performance? How does teamwork contribute to the efficient running of a laboratory? Is team building important and what are some of the ways to promote team spirit? In this presentation, the questions that have been highlighted will be analyzed and some of the tenets of good practice in a laboratory will be discussed.
MANAGEMENT OF A CENTRAL RESEARCH FACILITY: EXPERIENCES IN MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION AND PREPARATION FACILITY (MCPF)
DR. FANNY L-Y SHEK
Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility (MCPF) is one of the central facilities in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) intensively serving the academic researchers and postgraduate students in schools of science and engineering for the preparation, characterization and analysis of various advanced materials. In addition to serving HKUST, MCPF also provides services to Hong Kong sister institutions and clients from government laboratories and regional industries. Since the MCPF was established in 1991, it has become an indispensable central facility in HKUST. MCPFpossess a wide range of sophisticated and modern equipment needed for in-house and collaborative materials research. It consists of fifteen main research laboratories covering from the sample preparation to various characterizations. In the presentation, we will introduce the facilities installed in MCPF and share our laboratory management experience on how through state-of-the-art instrumentation, well-designed laboratory environment, efficient users information logistic management and well-trained professional, in order to assist and serve our researchers, to bridge and enhance the interaction among them, and ultimately catapulting Hong Kong’s leadership in science and technology.
ASPEK KESELAMATAN DALAM PENGURUSAN MAKMAL KIMIA
DI UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA (UKM)
ISHAK AHMAD
Pusat Pengajian Sains Kimia dan Teknologi Makanan
Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
43600 Bangi Selangor
Keselamatan makmal merupakan antara elemen terpenting dalam pengurusan makmal kimia di Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Perkara yang menjadi tumpuan adalah kemudahan dan pengendalian peralatan makmal dan bahan kimia, penyimpanan bahan kimia, pengurusan sisa dan plan pengungsian makmal. Bagaimanapun persediaan secara fizikal ini tidak menjamin keselamatan di makmal kimia jika faktor diri iaitu melibatkan etika pengendalian makmal tidak difahami dan tidak dilaksanakan dengan betul dan berdisiplin. Kajian yang dijalankan oleh para penyelidik di UKM terhadap pelajar Tahun Satu di Pusat Pengajian Sains Kimia dan Teknologi Makanan menunjukkan peratusan tertinggi iaitu sebanyak 63% pelajar berada dalam kategori sederhana kefahaman mereka terhadap keselamatan makmal kimia. Manakala 30% pelajar pada kategori lemah dalam memahami aspek keselamatan makmal. Disebabkan perkara tersebut beberapa penambahbaikan dalam meningkatkan kefahaman, pengendalian dan penguatkuasaan keselamatan makmal telah dibuat di semua peringkat samada melibatkan pelajar pra-siswazah, pelajar siswazah dan pekerja di makmal.
PERANAN PERKHIDMATAN SAINS: TANGGUNGJAWAB MEMACU KECEMERLANGAN SAINTIFIK NEGARA
MUSA AHMAD
Fakulti Sains & Teknologi,
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus
Kecemerlangan saintifik negara terutamanya dari aspek penyelidikan dan pembangunan (R&D). adalah kritikal untuk merealisasikan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara maju menjelang tahun 2020. Kejayaan R&D berupaya memacu kecemerlangan negara kerana kemampuannya untuk menghasilkan harta intelek dan inovasi yang berupaya meningkatkan nilai tambah global dan mewujudkan peluang pekerjaan baru; keupayaan untuk mencipta ilmu dan menghasilkan penemuan saintifik baru serta keupayaan untuk membangunkan modal yang dihasratkan bagi mempergiatkan inovasi dalam semua sektor ekonomi negara secara berterusan. Melalui Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi (KPT), kerajaan telah memperkenalkan Plan Strategik Pengajian Tinggi Negara (PSPTN) yang digubal khusus dengan hasrat untuk melahirkan modal insan untuk meningkatkan keupayaan pengetahuan dan inovasi negara serta memupuk minda kelas pertama untuk menjamin kelestarian aktiviti R&D. PSPTN menjuruskan strategi kepada 7 teras yang antara lain meletakkan penyelidikan dan inovasi sebagai agenda utama. Tidak dinafikan bahawa kecemerlangan saintifik negara yang merupakan tonggak ke arah menjadikan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara maju sangat menagih penglibatan secara serius daripada kumpulan Perkhidmatan Sains untuk menjayakan misinya. Untuk PSPTN, kebergantungan ini dapat dilihat kepada matlamat plan strategik ini yang ingin mengujudkan sebanyak 50 RSE (bilangan penyelidik, saintis dan jurutera) untuk setiap 10,000 tenaga kerja; mengkomersialkan sekurang-kurang 5 peratus daripada semua usaha R&D; menghasilkan universiti penyelidikan (RU) bertaraf antarabangsa serta melahirkan 5 pusat kecemerlangan penyelidikan dan pembangunan bertaraf dunia. Peranan Perkhidmatan Sains turut mencakupi aspek penyediaan insan kamil yang bertaqwa kerana ilmu sains seperti disebut dalam Al-Quran mampu untuk mendekatkan manusia kepada Maha Pencipta, terutamanya kepada mereka yang mahu berfikir. Dalam aspirasi menghasilkan sebuah negara maju dengan acuan sendiri, aspek ini adalah sangat penting dan perlu diberikan perhatian sewajarnya untuk melahirkan sebuah masyarakat wasatiyyah.
Kata kunci: Perkhidmatan Sains, Kecemerlangan Saintifik, Pembangunan & Penyelidikan, Plan Strategik, Al-Quran.
ROLE OF SCIENCE OFFICERS IN QUALITY ASSURANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
H. L. HING1, M.N. MAHFIZA1, N.A. ZAINON1 , N. SHAMSUDIN2, M.A. KASWANDI3, A.Z
SAHALAN2, & H. GELDERBLOMS
1 Standard & Reference Division, Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA),
7th Flr, Block A, Menara PKNS-PJ, No 17, Jalan Yong Shook Lin
46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
2Electron Microscope Unit, Faculty Science and Technology, The National University of Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor
3Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, The National University of Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
Quality assurance is undert
aken to ensure that a system or flow of works will satisfy the standards. The goal of quality assurance is to improve the process and hence the whole flow of system especially in laboratory setting. QA not only deals with the anticipation and avoidance of faults but also involve continual quality improvements. It involves setting attainable standards for a process, organizing the laboratory procedure and protocols so that they are achievable, documenting the procedures required, communicating to those involved, monitoring and reviewing the attainment of standards. Quality assurance is designed to safeguard academic and technical standards and promote learning opportunities for science officers/technicians of acceptable quality
to ensure that quality is maintained.
In Malaysia, MQA (Malaysian Qualifications Agency) with the guide of COPPA (Code of Practice for Programme Accreditations) guide the implementation of programme standard in universities. There are nine areas to be quality assured such as institutional Vision, Mission and Educational Goals, Programme Aims, Learning Outcomes, Curriculum Design and Delivery, Assessment of Students, Student Selection and Support Services, Academic Staff, Educational Resources, Programme Leadership and Administration, Programme Monitoring and Review & Continual Quality Improvement. In order to maintain a high standard of education, science officers are required to play an important role as outline in the various area of QA. Taking cue from the areas concerned, the following points that allows science officers to play an important role in enhancing the standard or quality may involve the following such as
i. rationale for role of science officers
ii. information on laboratory equipments, management & procedures
iii. technical staffs involved.
iv. available facilities/equipments for the students
v. training of technical staffs to be provided
vi. Continual improvement of science officers in the laboratory setting.
In conclusion, by having a standard procedure and guidelines for science officers, a high standard or quality in the laboratory could be achieved.
