ASSISTANT DIRECTOR BIOLOGICAL SAFETY

OFFICE OF CLINICAL AND RESEARCH SAFETY

Job Summary:

Manage a comprehensive biological safety program for all research laboratories at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) that use infectious microorganisms and/or biohazardous agents.

Department/Unit Summary:

Vanderbilt Environmental Health and Safety (VEHS) mission is to partner with the VUMC/VU community to facilitate and promote safety, health and environmental protection. VEHS accomplishes this task by providing expertise in the following EH&S technical disciplines: radiation safety; occupational safety, emergency preparedness; industrial hygiene; fire and life safety; training; hazardous materials management; and biological safety.

Position Shift:

• First Shift

View how Vanderbilt Health employees celebrate the difference they make every day:

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded and your abilities challenged. It is a place where your diversity -- of culture, thinking, learning and leading -- is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

VUMC Recent Accomplishments

Because we are committed to providing the best in patient care, education and research, we are proud of our recent accomplishments:

* US News & World Report: #1 Adult Hospital in Tennessee and metropolitan Nashville, named to the Best Hospitals Honor Roll of the top 20 adult hospitals, 10 nationally ranked adult specialty programs, with 3 specialties rated in the top 10 nationally, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt named as one of the Best Children's Hospital in the nation, with 10 out of 10 pediatric specialties nationally ranked.

* Healthcare's Most Wired: Among the nation's 100 "most-wired" hospitals and health systems for its efforts in innovative medical technology.

* Becker's Hospital Review: named as one of the "100 Great Hospitals in America", in the roster of 100 Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Oncology Programs and to its list of the 100 Hospitals with Great Heart Programs.

* The Leapfrog Group: One of only 10 children's hospitals in the to be named at Leapfrog Top Hospital.

* American Association for the Advancement of Science: The School of Medicine has 112 elected fellows

* Magnet Recognition Program: Received our third consecutive Magnet designations.

* National Academy of Medicine: 22 members, elected by their peers in recognition of outstanding achievement

* Human Rights Campaign Healthcare Equality Index: 6 ^th year in a row that Vanderbilt University Medical Center was a Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality.

Additional Key Elements/ Responsibilities:

1. Assist researchers and VUMC with compliance with all applicable standards and regulations under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) including:
   1. Managing and serving as a member on the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) including:
      1. Assisting research teams with preparing risk assessments for proposed new procedures that will require IBC review and approval.
      2. Coordinating and managing the administrative processing of IBC registration documents including quality control review of documents prior to distribution and scheduling/assigning review activities conducted by Biosafety staff.
   2. Serving as the Biological Safety Officer.
   3. Managing incident investigations and reporting.
   4. Developing, implementing, and maintaining a comprehensive program for registration of applicable research work with the IBC.
   5. Managing compliance with select agent program.
   6. Managing compliance with import permit program.
   7. Managing compliance with "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL)".
2. Maintain an inventory of all infectious, potentially infectious, and genetically engineered microorganisms being used throughout VUMC laboratories.
3. Provide direct oversight and manage regulatory compliance of all BL3 designated laboratories including:
   1. Develop and maintain operational profiles for each BSL-3 lab.
   2. Coordinate with Facilities Management and the BSL-3 Facility Managers to assure that operations and maintenance activities are carried out in accordance with BSL-3 standards of practice including coordination of annual shutdown and recertification activities.
   3. Provide input to departments and design teams regarding the construction of new, or modification of existing BSL-3 facilities.
   4. Provide guidance to research teams in developing procedural documents that conform to institutional BSL-3 standards of operations.
   5. Assist research teams with training and qualification activities required for deeming personnel prepared to work independently at BSL-3.
   6. Monitor and inspect BSL-3 labs on a periodic basis to determine corrective actions and document compliance with BSL-3 standards of practice.
   7. Coordinate and manage the administrative processing of IBC registration documents including quality control review of documents prior to distribution and scheduling/assigning review activities conducted by Biosafety staff.
4. Work with Occupational Health to develop and implement a comprehensive program to satisfy the requirements of the TOSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard including post-exposure evaluations of exposure incidents and thorough training of both researchers and lab workers on their responsibilities.
5. Serve as an "ex-officio" member of the Animal Use and Care Committee.
6. Serve as a member on the Human Subjects IBC.
7. Work with Occupational Health and Infection control with medical surveillance issues for employees working with HIV and other biohazardous agents.
8. Develop and maintain a biosafety cabinet certification program.
9. Assist research laboratories with safety and compliance related to working with and disposing of:
   1. Recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules.
   2. Agents infectious to humans, animals, or plants.
   3. Human-derived materials.
   4. Non-human primate-derived materials.
   5. Biological toxins.
10. Develop and maintain central database of all Biosafety Level designated laboratories and research efforts.
11. Serve as liaison between VUMC and biosafety-related regulatory agencies including filling specific biosafety-related roles required by regulations such as "Responsible Official" for the select agent program.
12. Develop, implement, and maintain policies, training, and inspection program to support compliance with items listed above.
13. Provide the same functions listed above (as needed) for Vanderbilt University (VU) research enterprise through a Service Level Agreement.

Direct supervision of multiple professional staff members. Indirect supervision of interns, consultants, and vendors.

Monitor expenditures against budget. Prepare necessary documentation for supervisory approval.

Frequent contact with all levels of administration, faculty, and staff including the presentation of information where detailed explanation is required to obtain cooperation and approval.

Frequent contact with consultants and vendors. Potential for contact with the general public as VUMC's representative on biosafety matters. Official liaison for biosafety-related regulatory agencies.

Frequent contact with students as interns or in laboratories. Occasional contact with patients as consultant for HIV and TB patients.

There are no unusual physical requirements.

Frequent exposure to biological and infectious agents, hazardous chemicals, and ionizing radiation.