About the Authors
Danara Flores: I am a PhD student in the Slayden lab looking at host pathogen interactions in TB infections. Sustainability is important to me as I see the large amounts of waste that are produced from research.
Naseer Alnakhli: My research area is to develop a new vaccine against Brucella Melitensis in small ruminants. Implementing sustainable practices is about taking care of and preserving the earth so thay future generations will be able to enjoy it.
Dylan Ammons: My research is in canine cancer immunology. The scientific process often results in the generation of a substantial amount of waste, so scientists must act to minimize our impact on the environment. Consider adopting green laboratory practices in your lab to reduce the environmental impact of research.
Deb Green: The amount of information that I have gotten from my sustainability topics class is unbelievable. I will take this with me no matter what type of work I will eventually find after receiving my master’s degree.
Laura Bashor: I study SARS-CoV-2 cross-species transmission and evolution in nonhuman animals. During my sustainability topics class, I appreciated the opportunity to learn from my peers in the CVMBS community and consider sustainability in the context of academic laboratory research.
McKenzie Fletcher: I am a PhD student in the labs of Drs. Gregg Dean and Allison Vilander. My work focuses on a probiotic-based vaccine against rotavirus, particularly where the vaccine localizes after oral intake and how it interacts with the host immune system. Conducting research sustainably is critical to ensuring that there will still be a planet and people living on the planet who will benefit from the research being done! Solutions to environmentally unfriendly research practices are out there–people just need to know what they are.
Greg Pugh: I investigate the change in Anopheles and Culex mosquito population dynamics when the population is challenged with endectocides. Sustainability is important to me because the current route we have taken is hypocritical. How can we be vanguards of life science, if we are destroying life simultaneously?
Linda Fischbacher: I am studying Langerhans cells and Mycobacterium leprae. Research is essential; however, we cannot destroy the planet while attempting to study and help the planet. Learning how to conduct research that is balanced with sustainability is crucial.
Kaitlynn Williams: I am a PhD student in the MIP department. I am interested in studying vector-borne infectious diseases and their evolution over time and space. The full impact that climate change may have on this relationship is not known. For me, sustainability is a matter of adjusting one’s habits and mindset to consider the needs of future generations. More researchers participating in this shift will increase the positive impact that research has on a global scale.
Eileen Owens: I’m a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Anne Avery’s Clinical Hematopathology Lab, where I study the molecular features of canine peripheral T-cell lymphoma. As a research veterinarian, sustainability is especially important to me because of how intimately environmental health is tied to animal and public health, which are two key pillars of the veterinarian’s oath.
Tillie Dunham: Over my years in research I have mainly focused on virology and genetics more on the molecular biology side of things. I completed my undergraduate degree at CSU working under Dr. Mark Stenglein and am currently in my first year of my PhD rotating in Dr. Christie Mayo’s lab. Sustainability has been important to me ever since I began lab work. I noticed quickly how wasteful science can be and appreciate when we can make things more sustainable. This class was very informative for me and gave me many ideas that I didn’t think of before that I can take into my research such as substitutes for water in water baths.
Joseph DeFranco: I am a member of the Telling Lab in the Prion Research Center, and my research focuses on prion strain properties and transmission dynamics. As part of the scientific community, I’m constantly aware of the dire state of our planet’s climate. I believe it’s important that during scientific research we try our best to minimize our waste and footprint.
Rebecca Staudenmaier: I am the lab manager for the Dobos lab. We do mycobacteria research, primarily tuberculosis. In my short time with the lab, I have come to realize how important this research is to the world. The good we do through our collaboration with BEI makes me proud to be a part of this group. My graduate work was in a very different field. I did research in developmental biology and space biology. I examined the effects of microgravity on the development of mouse embryo lung explants as well as the effects of a cell cycle inhibitor, CERES-18, on branching morphogenesis. As a part of the microgravity experiments, we also investigated reduced temperature as a potential method to halt development of organ explants during and after return to gravity on Earth. Sustainability is important to me because I feel that at the current rate, the world will not be a good place to live for our children or grandchildren. Images of the movie WALL-E run through my head. I don’t want to get to that point. The world is ours to borrow; it belongs to future generations. We can, and must, do better.
Grace Jakes: I am a rotating DVM/PhD student with prior focus on animal nutritional physiology. Sustainability is integral to who I am as a scientist and veterinarian because sustainability impacts public health directly and cannot be divorced from the scientific process
Kimberly Shelton: I am a graduate student in Dr. Karen Dobos’ lab, helping conduct research to identify biomarkers of latent tuberculosis infection using mass spectrometry approaches. The research that we conduct aims to positively impact the world around us, but the amount of waste generation and resource use has a negative impact on the climate and environment. In helping to generate this guide and in being a member of a lab that has initiated the journey to becoming a ‘greener’ lab, it has become apparent to me that sustainability can and should have a role in research labs. I have learned so much about how I can implement more environmentally friendly behaviors and practices into my own research and hope that this guide provides similar knowledge and empowerment for others to implement sustainability into their own science.
Megan Lucas: My work is focused on the proteomics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While sustainability is important at work, as well as at home, we sometimes have to find creative ways to accomplish it in the laboratory setting so that we can still maintain biosafety and high quality research.
Sarah Cooper: My research involves evaluating the host immune response and pathology associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in animal models. Sustainability is important to me because small actions can make a huge impact collectively; this course has taught me how attainable research sustainability can be while minimally impacting research quality and efficiency.
Laurel Haines: My research aims to understand the roles of resident and recruited macrophages during metastasis of osteosarcoma to the lungs. Osteosarcoma is the most common primary tumor of bone and has a high incidence in children as well as large breed dogs. By understanding the roles of these cell types in mediating osteosarcoma metastasis, we aim to identify therapeutic targets to improve outcomes for these young patients and our canine companions. It is my ultimate goal to improve the health of not just humans and animals but the environment as well. I feel that maintaining sustainability while conducting my research will help to optimize health for the entire planet. I aim to employ green practices in my research so that my efforts to improve human and animal health are not done at the expense of environmental health as these three facets of “One Health” are co-dependent.
Elena Lian (cover artist): I study polysaccharide-related modifications in the Mycobacterium abscessus cell envelope and their role in mycobacterial physiology and pathogenicity. A lot of the work I do is resource-intensive. Sustainable research is important to me, because it marks a threshold between conducting important, human health-related research while not compromising environmental and human health as a consequence of the resources I need to do the research.
Shelby Cagle: I research emerging infectious arboviruses and participatory science communication. Certain populations are disproportionately affected by unsustainable practices, including increased waste generation and increased energy consumption. Determining how everyday laboratory practices can be made more sustainable is advantageous for creating a more equitable world. Science is about bettering lives, and sustainability is a huge part of that goal.
Sam Courtney: I work with tick-borne viruses, specifically the evolution of Powassan virus during tick transmission. This work is completed in a Biosafety Level 3 environment, which is why I am so compassionate about sustainability in BSL-3 work. From this class, I have learned several behavioral changes that we can enact in our BSL-3 here at CSU to ensure long-term sustainability efforts. This includes minimizing what we bring into the material transfer area and using more glassware to minimize plastic use. Overall, I hope to see these sustainability efforts make widespread changes in all BSL-3 laboratories across the US.
Heidi Kloser: I am studying immunology and pathology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and tuberculosis disease on the development of osteoarthritis. As scientists, we are trying to advance knowledge about our world so I believe we shouldn’t make it at the cost of the environment.
Nurudeen Oketade: I am a Ph.D. Student in Microbiology at the Dobos Lab. My research focuses on better understanding the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and its potential as a drug target. Through the green labs class, I have been able to recognize the importance of imbibing sustainability practices in my research and how researchers can contribute to protecting our environment.
Marylee Kapuscinski: Using molecular biology techniques, I study how viruses reassort in hopes of better predicting where novel viruses might emerge. It’s common to hear folks in the lab comment on the amount of plastic waste we generate in order to do good research. This class has shown me simple ways that we can help to minimize the amount of waste in the lab. It’s important that we do good science while also helping to protect the planet.
Dev Aldaz: I am a first year student of the MIP PhD program currently completing my first rotations. I hope to research in the realm of prions and neuroinflammatory diseases and also help to incorporate sustainability in where I end up. When I was collaborating to help write this guide, I was surprised to learn just how much energy and resources that research labs use as well as the various easy sustainable changes that can make a big difference.
Colleen Duncan: I can barely spell the word laboratory, but I care an awful lot about the health of animals, people and the planet that they rely on. In my role as a veterinarian and educator at CSU I seek to infuse sustainability into our activities and programs such that we minimize the negative impacts of our work and empower our trainees to address the wicked problems they will inherit.
Tracy Webb: As a veterinarian and Research Scientist, I am highly committed to improving the lives of all animals, to which a healthy, diverse environment is integral. Finding ways to practice quality medicine and research more sustainably should be embedded in the process, and efforts like this guide serve as an important reminder, a challenge, and a way to share current ideas and information in research sustainability.
Nick Heyer:
Michelle Degnin:
John Patterson:
Kieran Broder: