How to Plan a Wet Lab on Grafton Campus

This document explains how to plan a wet lab on the Grafton campus. If you are planning a non-wet lab event please see the separate document that covers non-wet lab events. If your event includes both a wet lab and non-wet lab please read both documents even though there might be many similarities.

Step 1: Pick a date!! If it is a large, campus wide event/wet lab make sure you email Barbara Berman to make sure there are no conflicting events planned by the administration on that day. Also be sure to check the SCAVMA calendar to make sure there are no other wet labs happening on that day.

Step 2: Reserve the rooms you will need for the date of your wet lab on Microsoft Outlook using your Tufts email username and password. Do this as early as possible to make sure that all the rooms you need are available for your event. You will receive a confirmation email when your room reservations have been approved. Make sure you reserve all the rooms you need, as they have to be individually reserved. For example, you would reserve McGrath 112 and 113 if you have 2 wet labs, one with cadavers and one with live animals. To learn how to reserve a room please see document titled “How to Reserve Room on Microsoft Outlook”.

Step 3: At least 3 weeks prior to your event, if you need small animal cadavers (dog and cat specimens), you need to fill out a Small Animal Cadaver Request form. This form needs to go to Joe Popowski and if you need a large number of animals then the request needs to be submitted much earlier to allow adequate time for Joe to obtain all the specimens requested. You will not need to put in your department/account number because you are using the specimens for teaching purposes and will not be charged the amounts listed on the form. Please see the “Small Animal Cadaver Request Form”. If you need other species cadavers and are unsure of who to contact, talk to Joe a couple of months in advance to discuss where you can get the cadavers or at least who to contact about cadaver donations. Earlier is always better to ensure your wet lab will have the materials and specimens it needs! If you are using live animals, they need to be on an IACUC protocol. The easiest way to do this is to have a professor run the lab who has an ongoing IACUC protocol and they can add the animals you are using for the lab onto the protocol. Every owner needs to sign a waiver! Please see the Owner Consent Waiver Document.

Step 4: At least 2 weeks prior to your event you need to fill out a pre-lab checklist form and you need to go over it with Joe Popowski. Please see the Pre-lab Checklist Document

Step 5: At least 2 weeks prior to your event you need to fill out a Facilities request form. This request form is filled out online at this website: https://fsrequest.tufts.edu/WebMaint/ (NOTE: For some reason a few students cannot seem to access this website unless they are on the Tufts Internet Access, so you might have this same issue, if so, just fill out the form when on campus.) On the request form website you use your Tufts email username and password to login. Then on the left hand column you will click on the request event set-up. After filling out the form you can check on your form submission under the fourth tab on the left hand column. Here you can review past submissions and see what charges will be incurred to your account. Fill out the event set-up form as indicated and in the comment section specific the following: Event Start Date and Time; Event Finish Date and Time; Building location and room number(s); Location of the outdoor areas, if necessary; Type of room arrangement (attach a sketch of your requirements if necessary); Additional trash/recycle barrels—how many; Coat racks and portable blackboards; Number of people; Dept. ID needs to be on the form to cover all charges (rentals, off hours, clean up for events with food, etc.); Indicate if you will need cleaning services at your wet lab. Tables and chairs for larger groups (more than 50 people), or special equipment (tents, specific furniture) can be arranged through Facilities Services with one-month prior notice. There will be a charge for these, in addition to the labor charge. If you have additional questions the website for facility operations is: http://operations.tufts.edu/facilities/eventplanning/grafton/.

Step 6: Make sure you contact campus police at least 2 weeks in advance to let them know about the event. Send an email to Sgt. McCune ([email protected]) and CC Patricia Bathgate ([email protected]) to let them know about any doors you need unlocked and during what time frame.

Step 7: Fundraising! If you are going to businesses in the local area, make sure to contact SCAVMA ahead of time to get a list of businesses that have already been solicited for donations from Tufts organizations and be sure to avoid these same locations again. If you need an official letter on Tufts letterhead (whether it is for a donation request or thank-you letter) be sure to email Tina Rice ([email protected]) with a prototype letter of what you want the letter to say and she will put the correct information (including tax id number if requested by business only) on the letter and get you copies! NOTE: This process takes at least 2-3 business days, so plan accordingly.

Step 8: If you want your wet lab to be eligible for Continuing Education Credit (CE), make sure to email Sue Brogan ([email protected]) at least a month in advance and she will tell you the requirements she needs to approve the wet lab for CE credit. Usually she needs the credentials of the speakers and the topic they will be speaking about, and the presentations need to be at least 45 mins long.

Step 9: Reserve Audio/Visual Equipment or other Computer/AV help If you need A/V equipment and wonder how much things cost to rent please see this website: https://it.tufts.edu/qs-audvis-price Here is the A/V Service Request Form, this needs to be completed at least 2 weeks in advance: https://it.tufts.edu/qs-audvis-servform Here is the list of general A/V Service Policies: https://it.tufts.edu/qs-audvis-policies The request will go to the Medford campus and will then be re-routed to the Grafton campus. It is a roundabout method but it will work! Just make sure that you do this in advance. Note: That they consider the weekend to be overtime and so it does cost more to get A/V equipment on the weekend. If you do not know exactly what you need, you can always just contact the IT people at 617-627-3376 or email [email protected].

Step 10: Disposal Procedures Disposal Procedures depend on the type of animal that needs to be disposed of after the lab is over. If you are disposing of cats and dogs that had no abdominal surgery or do not contain large amounts of fluids, these animals will need to be re-bagged and brought up to the pathology department to be placed in the refrigerator in the large black disposal bins. On every bag needs to be a tag, and on those tags write the number “V320100 Please Dispose”. Your club will not be charged for the disposal of dog and cat cadavers. On the very top bag please indicate how many small (cat sized) and how many large (dog sized) cadavers there are in the bin with the “V320100 Please Dispose” tags. If you are disposing of animals other than small animals, you will need to fill out a Pathology Disposal Form. After your lab you will need to weigh the cadavers that you wish to dispose. You will then take the cadavers up to the pathology department and will place them in the big large black bins for disposal. There is a document that needs to be filled out which has your Department ID and weight of the cadavers on it that has to be turned into the Pathology Department when you bring the cadavers up to the hospital. You will be charged for the disposal of these animals. Please see the “Pathology Disposal Form” NOTE: If the cadavers are very small specimens (like with a rodent surgery or pig feet lab) you can place the cadavers into the biohazard bag boxes in that anatomy room. Then please place the biohazard box into the cooler or freezer. If you have questions about disposal procedures please talk to Joe Popowski.