The Lab Safety Gurus
Discover the secrets to enhancing laboratory safety without the hassle of navigating complex regulations and modifying established practices.
Tune in to the enlightening discussions led by the knowledgeable Dan the Lab Safety Man and infectious disease behaviorist Sean Kaufman. Together, they explore a wide range of lab safety subjects on a weekly basis.
Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and engaging debates surrounding lab safety by tuning in to every episode.
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The Lab Safety Gurus
Spotlight on Laboratory Scientists Fighting Emerging Diseases
How do laboratories act as frontline warriors during health crises like COVID-19? Join us, Dan Scungio and Sean Kaufman, as we explore the indispensable role these labs play in diagnosing diseases, guiding treatments, and ensuring public safety. Drawing from our own experiences and professional insights, we discuss the procedural challenges and emotional pressures faced by laboratory professionals, emphasizing the urgent need for specialized training in handling dangerous substances.
We also spotlight the unsung heroes working in public health and academic labs. These professionals are not only researching new treatments and diagnostics but are also preparing for threats to our food and environment. From developing life-saving vaccines to conducting groundbreaking experiments, their contributions are vital. Tune in as we celebrate the dedication and hard work of these laboratory scientists, whose efforts are crucial in the fight against emerging infectious diseases.
Welcome to the Lab Safety Gurus Podcast. I'm Dan Scungio.
Speaker 2:And I'm Sean Kaufman, and together we're providing safety insights for those working in laboratory settings, doing safety together. Hi, dan, welcome back for our August podcast.
Speaker 1:How have you been, sean Kaufman? It is outstanding to be with you again. I have been running around doing presentations when I work. We have a huge accreditation inspection next week. Eight hospitals and 20 labs are going to get accredited re-accredited, so I'm really excited about that. And then in September, a vacation.
Speaker 2:I can't wait. Oh man, what about you? I just got back from my vacation. It was good. The kids started down here in Georgia, they started school. We have a daughter who's a senior, and also, too, I did get caught up. I've been traveling around too, but I got caught up in that whole Delta mess, so that was not very fun. You know what I think we need to do? Maybe next month response. Maybe that's something we could talk a little bit more about, like the psychology of an emergency, because it really shook me up a lot more than I thought it would. So it's very interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good topic.
Speaker 2:Well, hey, today let's talk a little bit. Covid is making a rebound, at least that's what we're hearing in the news, and you know about me, I don't really necessarily trust the news, but I do see that there are people getting sick. And so, Dan, today I want to talk about emerging infectious diseases and what laboratories do. Why do they matter and why do we need them? Because, quite honestly, I think some people question whether or not we need laboratories, and I think we can break it down pretty simply here what do you think?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the laboratory in my world. I work a lot in clinical laboratory arena and we tend to shoot ourselves in the foot all the time. We don't respect ourselves enough and we don't talk about ourselves enough. There's a laboratory in every hospital in the country in the world. A hospital can't even operate without a laboratory. We provide 70% or more of the diagnoses to the physicians, but people really don't know what happens in labs. And that's even more true in the world of research. And of course, safety expands into all of those realms. But you're right, I think the world needs to know more about what goes on in all of these laboratories.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, we have a podcast and we're the Lab Safety Gurus, and so let's look, let's break this down very simply, because we want people who are listening to us. Obviously, those who do listen to us typically tend to have a background in some type of laboratory, I would assume. I don't think random people are, you know, who are looking to fish or wanting to learn how to bowl better, or coming to the lab safety gurus. But I will tell you this we should be very proud, like you said. One thing I've got a harp on.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't ever mean to put down healthcare professionals. I really don't, and you know that, dan. I love doctors, I love nurses, but what bothers me is that the real superhero cape belongs on a laboratory professional in hospitals. Certainly, because we take samples from patients and the doctors and nurses are guessing until we confirm what they have in laboratories and, quite honestly, that confirmation is what guides us to a better treatment, better care for our patients. So the first avenue we're talking about it.
Speaker 2:Let's talk a little bit. Let's throw emerging infectious diseases in there and talk about what hospitals will see If another epidemic or biological event occurs. We're going to get individuals that start coming into hospitals that are sick and we'll be flying blind, and that's where these hospital laboratories are going to be quite essential in trying to determine what it is that we're up against. Dan, I know you work in hospitals and with clinical laboratories, but what do you think? I mean, what would an emerging infection look like for you at a hospital, when we're starting to get a lot of patients that are sick, maybe even feverish, and we don't necessarily know what they're experiencing? What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So that certainly takes me back to the pandemic when it first started to hit and those exact things that you just described happened and it affects the laboratory a lot. But it also expanded and grew our connection to the public health laboratories as well. So in a big system, a hospital system, typically you'll see like a consolidated microbiology lab and they have a lot of interaction with the state lab. Right, that's pretty normal, the state public health lab. But when a pandemic hits and you're starting to get samples at all the hospitals and the state lab, the public health lab wants to know hey, can you send us some stuff? What are you seeing, what are you getting? Then every laboratory starts to deal with a public health lab.
Speaker 1:And you know we introduced so many new practices in all of our laboratories when the pandemic first hit, including training for packaging and shipping, which a lot of people didn't have, because we were now starting to ship Category B substances from our labs to the state lab and things like that. That didn't usually happen before. There was a lot of unknowns. I can't tell you how many times I had to talk to our laboratory staff, pretty much daily, when the pandemic first hit and sort of calm them down and talk about. Hey, you know what? We use standard precautions every day. We work with dangerous pathogens every day and we don't know when exactly we're working with them and we need to be safe when we're working with them and this is how you do it. So this is how you're going to continue to do it. But we had some obviously there were some panicked people at that time who were hearing stories, watching the news. The hype was high, if you remember. It was really high.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. Now, not everyone who works in a lab works in a hospital, so let's give a shout out to other forms of laboratories as well. So, for example, right now, as people are listening to this podcast, as we're creating it, there are scientists dedicated to creating diagnostic tests, so they're out there looking for ways to detect things right, dan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the turnaround in those labs is amazing, sean. If you could see the innards of those research labs where they're developing. I had the pleasure of getting invited to one last month a couple of times in Chicago and the work that they do it's pretty much top secret.
Speaker 1:They don't want anybody knowing what they're doing, because they're a business, they're in competition, but they're also working quickly to develop technology to improve patient care and when the pandemic hit, the number of tests that came out rapidly, the diagnostic analysis that suddenly became available, was incredible and the speed at which it was coming out was incredible. And they continue to do that work to this day. So, yeah, we definitely need to appreciate those laboratories as well, and I've got to give a shout-out I mean, I really do.
Speaker 2:We tend to focus a lot on human health, and so obviously a shout-out to CDC and IH, those folks who are working on diagnostic countermeasures for potential emerging infectious diseases, but I've got to give my shout-out to USDA and APHIS as well. Diseases but I got to give my shout out to USDA and APHIS as well. These folks are out there looking for diagnostic packages and systems for animals, because, remember, it's not just about human health. If our animals become unhealthy, our food sources go away. That goes with plants too. So a shout out to those scientists.
Speaker 2:Now, another aspect, dan, of science is coming up not only with diagnostics, so that we can identify those who are sick and those who are challenged, but also finding vaccines and cures and treatments. Now again, I know the word out there. Vaccine is loaded today. So let me define vaccine for our show. Dan, you can jump in if you disagree with this vaccine. So let me define vaccine for our show. Dan, you can jump in if you disagree with this vaccine. A vaccine is something A that has demonstrated effectiveness, meaning it prevents a disease or prevents death or serious disease, and B it has been deemed safe for you to take. Dan, I don't know if you agree with that definition of vaccine, but can we define that vaccine for the show?
Speaker 1:Yep, I think that is a perfect and correct definition, especially in light of everything that's happened in the last four years.
Speaker 2:I'm staying out of that. I'm staying out of that. I'm staying right here.
Speaker 1:That is a safe definition because of all of that, Absolutely so listen right now.
Speaker 2:There are scientists out there that are searching for vaccines. They're searching for medical care treatments for the next emerging infectious diseases and even for existing ones. They're looking for better ways to treat people, and those scientists are in laboratories right now too. You got to give a shout out to USDA ARS. They're looking for that in animals. You got to give a shout out again to CDC and NIH. There's scientists that are doing it there as well. I don't know Dan any. You know my overlooking laboratorians in any way. I don't want to. I mean, I know there's plant individuals that are working for plant health and agriculture. There's no doubt whatsoever there. I know we also have some interesting scientists that work with insects.
Speaker 1:I know we also have some interesting scientists that work with insects. Yeah and right. Here in Williamsburg we have the Bush Breweries, which has its own microbiology lab for a beer manufacturing plant. There are laboratories in all kinds of nooks and crannies throughout our country and really everybody who's doing it is to keep the public safe. So definitely we're shouting out to all of you out there in any kind of laboratory that you might work in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you know. Look, I think it's important. A lot of people are very, very scared about science these days. They hear the issue about the pandemic. They think, you know, was this something that leaked from a lab? Was it something that was intentional, unintentional? And again, let's not go down that road. But science is not something that we should be afraid of. Science is something that, if we stop it, we should be afraid of meaning the lack of science. In my opinion and you know, dan, I'm very spiritual, I've always loved science because I believe science tries to discover the way that God put things on this earth. And again, we don't have to go down that road. But I love science and I'm a big fan of it and I worry sometimes when people don't understand what it is that we do in labs.
Speaker 2:Labs get attacked and these laboratories are quintessential In the clinical aspect. Where you work, dan, in a hospital setting. We definitely need them so that doctors and nurses can confirm their diagnosis of their patients and treat their patients to the best of their abilities. We need laboratorians and scientists to look at diagnostic countermeasures. We need to know who's sick, who's not sick, where the disease is, where it's going. That information that public health leans on is critical, and we need scientists in labs doing research to discover new treatments and new ways of handling disease. You know, dan, I'm sitting here and I'm looking. We got about four minutes left and there is one group that we did overlook. Can you, can you remember?
Speaker 2:he said the public health labs. Oh, yeah, I mentioned them. Yeah, we mentioned them, we did we mentioned them. Yeah, but we overlooked them. I mean, what are the roles of public health labs, dan? What?
Speaker 1:is the role, public health I mean. They do exactly what the title says they keep the public safe.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:But they're doing it in so many ways that I don't think the general public doesn't realize it. But even labs that may not deal with them on a regular basis probably don't know what's going on. But in the public health labs they were key during the Ebola introduction into the United States back in when was it 2014?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I bet you remember that well, but they were.
Speaker 2:I remember that. Yeah, I bet you remember that well.
Speaker 1:But they were a key in that I went to so many different training sessions at different public health labs because they were the experts. They knew how to handle it, they knew how to identify it, they knew how to diagnose. I mean they were so they just were the. They were the leader laboratory of all the labs in taking care and making sure that the US population was safe, and I know that labs do that in other countries as well.
Speaker 2:Well, I think one thing that public health labs do, as you said, dan, keeping the public safe. They're also on the lookout for the next potential natural or terrorist type of attack, meaning if our food source has ever attacked it, like a grocery store or in a certain area, and we start seeing these massive outbreaks of potentially you know, of potential diseases. Public health is on there. They're also, you know, they have techniques to ensure that if anybody's releasing anything, that maybe there's going to be some detection as well. So public health laboratories do a tremendous amount to complement the research laboratories, the diagnostic laboratories, the health care laboratories. Public health professionals are on the front line trying to keep the public health safe, and not only from naturally occurring events but also events that could be man-made or intentional.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and as one of the safety gurus, one of the things I love about the public health labs is they are on the front lines of figuring out ways to prevent things from harming laboratory staff and the public and the environment and patients, and the environment and patients. And they give those tools to the other labs that they're working with and they create some golden rules for safety that other labs can use, can utilize and can use to keep their staff safe and they are a huge resource to other kinds of labs throughout the country.
Speaker 2:All right. So let's do a shout-out. We'll do a shout-out. If you are working in a public health laboratory at state or local levels, or even at the federal level, I'm shouting out. You are a hero. Okay, dan? Who are you shouting out to?
Speaker 1:I'm going to shout out to Clinical Labs who again provide those diagnoses to physicians without whom hospitals could not exist. They are my heroes, as well as other laboratories. But shout out to those clinical laboratorians across the land.
Speaker 2:All right, and I'm shouting out to all those that are in these laboratories creating diagnostic countermeasures to the icky stuff that we have out there, to those who do it for humans, to those who do it for humans, to those who do it for animals, I shout out to you guys are heroes. And Dan, there's one more big shout out what do you got for me?
Speaker 1:I'm going to talk about the labs that are creating tests, and also the academic labs, sean, because there are students out there. They are learning and they are not. They're not just learning, they are working on experiments that are going to change the world, and that's happening at the academic level as well. So a shout out to all of them. They are key, just like all the other labs we mentioned.
Speaker 2:That could be a podcast, Dan, a podcast for the up and coming generation of scientists. I think that would be a good one. One final shout out before we end the podcast to all those that are developing vaccines and treatments and drugs, whether it's for animal health, plant health or human health. Thank you. You all are heroes as well, so there are shout outs Dan any final words before we end this this month.
Speaker 1:You know that's a huge group of people. We just talked about, sean, and they're all working for good. You mentioned that you're spiritual. I think I'm here because here in this place and time, because that's where God wants me to be, but what a work for good that is that all these people are doing. So I really do hope that, if you're in those fields, that you appreciate where you are and what you're doing, the good that you're doing for the world, because we certainly do as well.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you again, Dan, and thank you for those that are listening to us Share this with folks you think would be interested. We appreciate you. We do believe if you're serving in a laboratory, you are today's heroes serving on the front line of emerging infectious diseases. We are the lab safety gurus, Dan Scungio and Sean Kaufman.
Speaker 1:Thank you for letting us do lab safety together.