A research biocontainment facility is a highly specialized environment designed to safely handle and study infectious agents, hazardous biological materials, and other potential biohazards. These facilities are critical for research involving pathogens that pose risks to human, animal, or environmental health. The Seattle Children’s Research Division has an ABSL-3 facility, located on the 10th floor of the Jack MacDonald Building (JMB), that is a secure and advanced biosafety environment for handling infectious biological materials and conducting animal research with Risk Group 3 agents. This cutting-edge facility is designed to ensure maximum safety, containment, and operational efficiency for high-level biosafety research.
The design and operation of the facility prioritize safety and containment, supported by secure access control, advanced infrastructure, and specialized equipment. Access to the facility is tightly regulated, with entry restricted to trained personnel using individual access cards at two secured entrances. The facility is physically isolated from other areas on the floor, creating a contained environment. Personnel must adhere to strict use of personal protective equipment and respirator protocols to maintain safety standards.
The facility houses five BSL-3 suites equipped with both standard laboratory instruments, such as biosafety cabinets, incubators, and centrifuges, and specialized devices like cell rollers, plate readers, and homogenizers. Additionally, there is an animal holding room with a 1,200 cage capacity and a procedure room with nested aerosol infection chambers that support animal infection experiments. Biowaste is managed through two pass-through autoclaves. The facility also includes 26 biosafety cabinets that serve as primary containment units, supplemented by the room’s secondary containment and the building’s overall tertiary containment.
Engineering and safety features reinforce the containment of biohazards. Negative pressure zones, established through progressive pressure differentials, form robust biocontainment layers. Interlocking doors in anterooms provide additional security, while the HVAC system ensures single-pass, directional airflow with HEPA-filtered exhaust. Continuous airflow and ventilation further reduce the risk of aerosolized infectious particles.
Together, these features create a controlled and secure environment suitable for high-level biosafety research, ensuring the safety of personnel, research integrity, and environmental protection.
Please contact ABSL3@seattlechildrens.org with any inquiries about this facility.
Active users can find all relevant resources in the facillty SharePoint ABSL3 Hub - Home
Name | Role | Phone | Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Karuna Patil |
A/BSL3 Core Director
|
206-884-1379
|
karuna.patil@seattlechildrens.org
|
JMB-722
|
Keziah Hernandez |
A/BSL3 Specialist II
|
206-884-1526
|
keziah.hernandez@seattlechildrens.org
|
JMB-1040
|