Gene Analysis Group Policies

General Policy

Microarrays on GeneChip (Affymetrix) system or Agilent SureScan, Gene and micro RNA expression on Fluidigm Biomark, ddPCR on BIORAD QX200 system, multiplexing up to 800 target using nanoString nCounter Sprint, CFX96 for qPCR, nucleic acid extraction on QIAcube, sample QC using Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100, Nanodrop 1000, Victor3 plate reader or Qubit 3.

COVID-19 Policies

Core Facility operations resumed on June 3, 2020 in compliance with National, State, Local, HMS, and BCH safety guidelines, including masks as required. Policies to ensure social distancing and surface sterilization, for the safety of Core staff and Core customers, are below.

Social and Physical Distancing:

• Each lab bay will be limited to one Core staff member only
• Core staff member schedules will be staggered as much as possible to reduce overlap
• Self-use instruments will be placed into procedure rooms 16050 and 16052 (away from Core staff) and users must reserve time via core staff, as only one machine within the room may be used at a time.
• Core customer projects will be left within drop-off fridge outside Rm 16052 so users need not come into proximity with Core staff
  • Samples will be suggested to be dropped off only within certain hours (before 9am, during lunchtime and after 4pm) to minimize the number of individuals in the lab at once.
  • Projects, as always, will be submitted into iLab before being dropped off – Core staff will be aware of incoming projects. Additionally, customer contact will be limited to phone/email
  • If Core customers need to be met for sample exchange this will occur outside the lab area by elevators to reduce total individuals in the lab space
• Signage will be placed to restrict Core users to external common rooms and drop-off fridge area in hallway

Surface Sterilization:

• Surfaces will be sterilized as normal after experiments, additional sterilization of lab surfaces will occur every 3 hours – including drop off freezer and refrigerator doors
• Core staff will be responsible for disinfecting their respective bays’ surfaces/equipment at the end of the work day or prior to usage by another staff member
• Core self-users will be instructed to disinfect equipment after use with Core provided disinfectant wipes
• Gloves, hand sanitizer and/or disinfectant wipes will be provided at drop off locations for Core customer use
• Keyboard covers will be used on shared lab keyboards • Compliance with sterilization procedures will be ensured by use of cleaning log in common use spaces