Capstone Projects

Improving Chemical Hygiene in Laboratory Staff through Development of Novel Tools

Program: Applied Biotechnology Master's Degree — Research and Development
Host Company: PPD, a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher
Location: Middleton, Wisconsin (onsite)
Student: Sarah Nicole Passannante

In this project, I strove to address the issue of laboratory employees being insufficiently informed about the material hazards involved in their work. I did this by developing two novel tools based on a case study of PPD’s Middleton Campus Building 15. I created a tabular tool of all materials used in Building 15, in which someone could, at a glance, glean the key information needed to safely handle and store a chemical. For particularly hazardous materials, I developed full use guides, which contained more detailed operating procedures to ensure heightened compliance with safe handling.