New Public Health Core Lab

A total renovation of Hendricks Hall has been completed, converting it into a new home for the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) and the College’s new Public Health Core Laboratory (PHCL).

In addition to being a big step toward accreditation for the College by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the new lab will host research with global potential to enhance the quality of human lives.

The PHCL is actually six independent labs with two preparatory rooms plus teaching and research space. The facility contains two teaching labs capable of supporting biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) and wet chemistry work. The four research labs are designed to accommodate different research models including one wet chemistry lab, one BSL-2 lab and two BSL-3 labs. The BSL-3 suite looks very similar to the biology labs on campus – the difference is, the BSL-3 labs have limited access.

“The lab structure affords us the opportunity to expand our research of different agents,” said professor Evans Afriyie-Gyawu, whose research background is in food safety and toxicology – specifically focusing on strategies to protect humans and animals against contaminants in foods/feeds – and environmental toxicants and remediation activities.

Most importantly, Afriyie-Gyawu stressed that the controlled lab space is not only productive, but safe. Georgia Southern hired a lab design consultant with expertise in the construction of BSL-3 labs in the design phase. “Safety is the most important component in our labs,” said Afriyie-Gyawu.

“As the world continues to grow, we have the possibility of expanding our work with the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to move in the direction of food security,” said Afriyie-Gyawu. Other studies include researching the mercury levels in fish and the effects of these contaminants. “People don’t take seafood lightly,” said Afriyie-Gyawu, stressing the need for this research in the coastal area. “We need to and want to protect the health of the public and must do all we can through research, teaching and community service projects to realize this objective.”

In conjunction with a self-study and an upcoming site visit by CEPH officials, the lab will give the College a big push toward attaining accreditation, said Dean Charles Hardy.

“The CEPH accreditation will have a dramatic impact on all we do in the JPHCOPH, the University and our region,” he said. “Obviously, a key element in us reaching our goal is the development of the PHCL.” Upon successfully completing the requirements and receiving accreditation from CEPH, Hardy said this status will align the JPHCOPH with other notable schools/colleges of public health such as Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University.