Incorporating Social Justice in Labs

BioCore

  • The BioCore's purpose is to connect MCDB, EBIO, and IPHY researchers to campus research resources, such as equipment, campus offices, and campus services1. This program is available for all CU students, faculty, and staff and, as a result, is providing a more inclusive approach to accessing research equipment听 regardless of a person鈥檚 stature in research or level of funding. Training is required for use of BioCore equipment.听
  • Additional BioCore services include tracking down equipment, donating equipment to the BioCore, equipment disposal/surplus and equipment repair!听
  • The BioCore model is leading to more efficient use of equipment resources as well as benefiting more optimized use of lab space. Since racism has been identified in grant funding (see NIH mention above), the BioCore is also providing more equitable access to research equipment by researchers and departments regardless of their level of funding.听听
  • Questions? Reach out to the BioCore Manager at biocore@colorado.edu

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Space Optimization

  • Laboratory space is one of the most energy-intensive space types on a university campus. It is also an important community asset for discovery and innovation to address issues facing the world.听 As a result, optimized use of this space is of utmost importance to bring about solutions to problems.听
  • Managed, shared research equipment facilities (蜜桃传媒破解版下载 Core Facilities) bring cost avoidance to science and 蜜桃传媒破解版下载, and have many qualitative benefits. One important benefit of managed, equipment sharing is more efficient and optimized use of laboratory space2.听听
  • Since at least 2003, whenever the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department faces laboratory space constraints, the department faculty choose to conduct self-assessments to measure lab space activity and re-allocates. Lab space to meet changing needs by research groups听 Laboratories are one of the most energy-intensive and expensive campus spaces to build.听 As a result, this exemplary action for optimized use of lab space serves as a leadership example for achieving significant efficiency in scientific research3.
  • It is not uncommon for laboratory space to become cluttered with underutilized or used equipment and supplies that once were needed by an individual research group but now are surplus because research direction and needs have changed. If these resources had been shared with many research groups, this issue could be avoided but research commonly has an individualized 鈥渕y lab, my equipment鈥 mentality resulting from the way scientific research is funded.听 The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School recently did a Lab Clean-Out Project and reclaimed about 40,000 square feet of underutilized labs space! You can read more about the effort here: .

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What can scientists do?4

  • Recognize that the research you do doesn't happen in a vacuum. Think about where your waste goes, who your research benefits, and the practices that are happening in the background out of sight in your lab (energy use, water use, etc.).听
  • You can be an advocate within the scientific community for more sustainable and just solutions for our world's problems.
  • Be efficient with resources. We live within an ecosystem, and every action has repercussions elsewhere.

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