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1. 

   Alejandro Cuellar on March 25, 2021 at 12:23 pm EDT

   Hello Dr. Kaufman,

   My name is Alejandro Cuellar and I am currently a pathology assistant at Angell Animal Medical Center. I have had conversations with my manager Nicole Paquette about the importance of biosafety in a lab environment. She had mentioned you a few times and thinks that you are a great resource for everything safety related, and after reading how the LSI started and the work being done, I believe I agree.

   I was hoping I could get some insight from you on how one could start down this path?

   I currently have a bachelors in microbiology with an associates in biotechnology, and my training encompasses cell culture and the proper methods of safely handling said cultures.

   For years programs such as Georgetown University’s Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases masters degree have seemed extremely interesting to me. I have some knowledge of safety due to previous coursework in GMP and an old OSHA 10 hr certification.

   I am curious if my education is enough to start down this path, if I need to return to school for a master’s degree or if going through coursework at LSI would be a good start. My interests mainly lie in biosafety, although I imagine chemical safety would go hand in hand with work in a lab.

   I have spent more than half my life in a lab, and I feel like I have a responsibility to my labmates to ensure an efficient and safe environment. I feel that biosafety is an important job that not everyone jumps towards, and to quote what my parents use to say: “If I don’t do it, who will?”

   Thank you for spending time reading this, I hope we can communicate more about lab safety. It would be great if I can bring some more knowledge into our lab and ensure it is working at it’s safest and highest potential.

   Your help is greatly appreciated,

   -Alejandro Oscar Cuellar Alvarado

   Pathology Assistant – MSPCA Angell Lab

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