ASM's 52 Weeks of Biosafety
What is 52 Weeks of Biosafety?
ASM's 52 Weeks of Biosafety (52W) program is a year-long curriculum, aimed at improving biosafety and biosecurity in laboratories around the world. Through this unique program, participants build knowledge and skills that they can directly apply to the strengthening and development of comprehensive biorisk management plans for their laboratories. This empowers participants to use their experience to improve their home institutions in these areas. Additionally, participants will have continued, unlimited access to the ASM 52W network, connecting cohorts with other graduates of the 52W program. This provides graduates the opportunity to become regional biorisk management leaders by sharing experiences with other scientists, learning from each other and becoming a vital resource for regional collaborations.
Who benefits from participating in this program?
52W participants are generally laboratory technicians and laboratory directors chosen by their institutions, but they're not the only beneficiaries. Since a key component of the program is developing action plans for the participants' home institutions, the entire laboratory benefits from the work the participants are doing.
How does the program work?
The 52W curriculum comprises:
- Monthly live webinar sessions on specific biosafety topics.
- Short, monthly videos summarizing each session, which can be shared throughout the participants' organizations.
- Monthly program assignments with resources for completion.
- Specific behavioral cues tied to the assignment, which can be displayed throughout the organization.
- Weekly emails containing basic biosafety information and program updates.
- Bimonthly Biosafety IQ tests to increase awareness and overall knowledge.
- Monthly summary reports, completed by the participants, designed to log accomplishments with mentoring and completion of assignments.
The program culminates in a multi-day topical in-person workshop, facilitated by an experienced trainer and tailored to the participant organizations' needs.
