Welcome! This a guide to lab management questions that are frequently asked in the Cook, Kuhlman and Strahl labs in UNC’s Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Primary goals of this website are to provide:

  • A location where frequently-asked lab management questions are answered, e.g., Which autoclave program should I use?
  • Compilation of helpful information frequently not widely known, e.g., How do I interact with Minus80 Monitoring regarding their alarms on our -80 C freezers, cold rooms and liquid nitrogen?
  • Contributions toward even better departmental citizenship, e.g., Where are our departmental liquid nitrogen tanks?  Whom do I notify when they are almost empty and how?
  • Materials efficiently orienting new lab members, e.g., How do I register as a lab worker with EHS at UNC?  Which EHS training modules am I required to complete?
  • Information for better marshaling the efforts of our work-study students, e.g., How do I effectively train, supervise and support work-study students?

If you have ideas about how anything you find here can be improved, please contact Jeff Jones, jeffrey_jones@med.unc.edu.  We are especially interested in suggestions for helpful additional questions.

Questions

Regarding Equipment:

  1. How do I surplus (or discard) old equipment?
  2. How do I surplus (or discard) old computers?
  3. How do I make a request for repair or service of departmental equipment or facilities?
  4. How do I use the department’s autoclaves? Which autoclave program should I use? What do I do when I see temperature or pressure alarms?
  5. How do I use the department’s dishwashers?
  6. How do I recycle used printer cartridges?
  7. How do I obtain help when my computer is not connecting correctly to the UNC computer network?
  8. How do I connect to our lab printers?
  9. How do I use the shared liquid nitrogen freezers?
  10. How do I interact with Minus80 Monitoring regarding their alarms on our -80ºC freezers, cold rooms, and liquid nitrogen tank?
  11. How can I gain access via my computer to files on the server of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics?

Regarding Supplies:

  1. How do I order lab supplies?
  2. What do I do when I receive a package sent to the lab?
  3. How do I order FedEx mailing supplies?
  4. What do I do when I see boxes of dry ice on the floor near Genetic Medicine Building, Room 3082, where the dry ice bin is?
  5. Where are our liquid nitrogen tanks? Whom do I notify when they are almost empty?

Regarding Work-Study:

  1. How do I hire a work-study student?
  2. How can I be most helpful to the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics’ Human Resources Consultant in arranging for payments for new hires, including work-study students?
  3. What steps do I need to take when my work-study job ends?
  4. How do I effectively train, supervise and support work-study students?
  5. What is TIM and how do I use it?

Regarding the Genetic Medicine Building:

  1. How do I obtain a card that gives access to the Genetics Medicine Building during the evenings and weekends?
  2. How do I renew my card for access to the Genetic Medicine Building once it has expired?
  3. How do I send a package via FedEx? If I need to request a pickup of my FedEx package, how do I do so?
  4. How do I arrange for someone to send me a package via FedEx?
  5. How do I reserve a conference room in the Genetic Medicine Building, Marsico Hall or elsewhere in the School of Medicine?
  6. Where do I empty the small, blue recycling garbage cans in the lab?

Regarding Finances:

  1. How do I use the departmental credit card for ordering when necessary?
  2. How can I safely dispose of old financial and personnel records?
  3. What is a chartfield string of numbers and how do I use one to place an order?
  4. What is the UNC eProcurement (ePro) ordering system and how do I obtain access?
  5. How am I reimbursed for travel and/or business expenses?

Regarding Environmental Health and Safety:

  1. How do I register as a lab worker with Environment, Health and Safety at UNC? Which EHS training modules am I required to complete?
  2. How do I use and dispose of radioactivity on the third floor of the Genetic Medicine Building?
  3. How do I prepare for UNC Environment, Health and Safety lab inspections? When should I expect them?

Regarding Specific Labs:

  1. How do I access Strahl Lab Research Protocols?
  2. How do undergraduates begin research in the Strahl Lab?
  3. How do I add myself to the Kuhlman Lab Listserv?
  4. How do I obtain, as a new lab member, a quick, general overview of how my lab is managed?
  5. What are the guidelines for using the Cook and Strahl Lab Tissue Culture Room?
  6. How to add a new user to the department shared drives?
  7. How do I gain access to the Strahl Lab Handbook?