Research Lab Working Plan during COVID-19 – Intake Form

This form is intended for use by lead researchers (e.g., primary investigator or PI, research center director, core director, PI designee, etc.) and will be used to determine whether the lab/research space is safe or prepared to return to lab operations without compromising the safety of students and research personnel in the lab.

Please provide your detailed lab-specific plans in your responses to the questions below.

Using guidelines instructed in Meharry’s Reopening Plan distributed by the President’s office, Nashville COVID-19 Response and CDC, please complete the requested information and return your answers by this Friday, July 24, 2020. For any questions that do not apply to you and your research, simply mention “N/A.” Please be as detailed in your information as they apply to your lab’s special requirements or limitations. If additional information or documentation is required, you will be contacted by a representative from the Office of Research or the Environmental Health and Safety.

Primary Investigator (PI) Name*
First Last
PI Email*
PI Phone*
In case of a SARS-CoV2 diagnosis in the laboratory or research space under your supervision, please provide the name and emergency contact information of the responsible personnel (if different from the PI).
Emergency Contact Name
First Last
Emergency Contact Email
Emergency Contact Phone
School and Department / Research Center*
Dean and Department Chair*
Location of lab/ research space (building and room #s)*
Description of lab/research space*
Please include an analysis of the maximum intended occupancy and the closest proximity (in feet) of research personnel in a maximally occupied situation. If needed, provide a sketch of the research space(s) and dimensions. Upload the file below.
File Upload (Sketch)
Description of office space
In addition to lab/research space, please also describe office space, if not actually in the lab/research space area.
Project name and general description*
Project name and general description of research activities. If multiple projects, please provide information for all of them.
Description of essential research activities in the lab*
Lab personnel list*
List all lab personnel (faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students) who will be working in the lab /research space (for each person, please note frequency of on-campus duties) and specify where they will be working. Please designate each person’s role as faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellow, or graduate student.
Plan description*
Describe plan for ensuring that lab/research space and office space is occupied in a way that labs members maintain 6 feet of space between them under working conditions. Please be specific about how you will coordinate the activities of the members of your research group, who is working which shifts and how the investigators are distributed in the lab space (provide diagram as needed).
File Upload (Diagram)
Close proximity plan*
Describe any essential research activity in your lab or research space that would require 2 or more people to be in closer proximity than 6 ft and your plans for managing those interactions.
External locations*
List location(s) needing to be accessed for your research outside of primary lab/research space (research cores, for example).
List any particular COVID-19 safety precautions you intend to implement in your research lab.*
Does your lab/research space have at least 2 weeks’ worth of PPE (masks, gloves, and disinfectant) available?*
- Yes
- No
Do your research activities involve human subjects and/or vertebrate animals?*
- Yes
- No
Experimental subject transport*
Will your research necessitate transport of experimental subjects (patients or animal) between facilities/buildings? If the research does require transport, what is the COVID-19 safety plan in place?
Bio-safety containment*
Does/will your research involve COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 virus, infected cells/tissue, or infected patients? If so, enhanced bio-safety containment practices will apply. Please describe your plan in detail.
Ramp-down plan*
If needed because of a COVID-19 infection in the lab, or for some other reason, it is possible that your lab/research activities need to be ramped down in a short time period. Briefly describe your plans for a ramp-down and identify any research activities or specific considerations that would require more than one day to be shut down.