Containment Labs at the RBL

The RBL at Duke has a comprehensive safety and operations program to provide state-of-the-art containment facilities for BSL2, enhanced BSL2, and BSL3 research.

  • Approximately 12,000 sq.ft. of BSL2/3 laboratory space

  • 7 pathogen-specific Enhanced BSL2 and BSL3 laboratories

  • 2 ABSL3 small animal holding and procedure suites (mice, rabbits, ferrets)

  • Only ABSL2/3 Aerobiology Exposure and small-animal IVIS imaging facilities at Duke

High Containment Facility Manager:  

Rose Asrican, MS

(919) 681-5480

Containment Services Offered

Independent Use of Containment Lab Suite

  • GHRB/Duke RBL Card Access Request (Form)

  • BSL3 Worker Training REQUEST (Form)

  • The enhanced BSL2 and BSL3 lab modules can be booked for hourly use or for regular dedicated use.

  • Contact the RBL High Containment Facility Manager to schedule a consultation meeting

RBL Staff Support

  • The RBL has trained staff available to perform or assist your team with enhanced BSL2,  BSL3 and Select Agent studies (both lab and animal)

  • Contact the RBL High Containment Facility Manager to schedule a consultation meeting

BSL3/Select Agent Training or Consultation

  • RBL Safety Compliance team has extensive experience preparing approved Duke IBC and IACUC protocols for work with BSL2/3 and Select Agent pathogens.  

  • Boilerplate SOPs, Safety Training and project consultation for BSL2/3 and Select Agent work is available FREE to all Duke Investigators

  • Contact the RBL Associate Director to schedule a consultation meeting

Decontamination Services

  • The RBL has a Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide generator for small and large equipment decontamination

  • Contact the RBL High Containment Facility Manager for details on decontamination services

Use Fees/Rates

Current approved rates for Duke Investigators can be seen in CoreResearch@Duke (Core D-0035)

CoreResearch@Duke can also be used to request an ESTIMATE for a grant or contract proposal

Requests and Reservations

Internal Duke Users:

 External Non-Profit Institution users:

  • A signed Research Analysis Quote and Agreement (RAQA) and Purchase Order (PO) will be needed from your institution
  • Contact RBL High Containment Facility Manager for a price quote to get the process started

Non-Duke For-Profit Entity users:

  • Duke Shared Resources can only provide services to For-Profit Entities under a signed Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA)
  • The collaborative research project must have a defined research question, scope of work, budget, and timeline.
  • Contact RBL High Containment Facility Manager to get the process started.

Directions to the RBL and Parking Information (contact us)

How to acknowledge work done in our facility:

Please acknowledge our facility in any publications/presentations:  “Biocontainment studies were done in the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at Duke, which received partial support for construction from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (UC6-AI058607; G20-AI167200) and facility support from the National Institutes of Health (UC7-AI180254).”