Use Policies

MISSION STATEMENT

Sharing Builds Community:  The Stem Cell Reserve is not a Core but a means to share resources and technologies to across the community. 

ACCESS POLICY

  • PIs must read, understand, and agree to this policy statement before access to the Reserve will be granted to lab members.
  • Use of the Reserve and an instrument constitutes an agreement by the PI to provide financial assistance for periodic maintenance, repair or upgrade.
  • All active members of the UCSF Broad Stem Cell Center scientific community are eligible to request the use of the equipment.
  • All instruments in the Reserve come from specific sources such as a consortium of owners or a departmental/center donation. Access to these instruments may, therefore, be rationed accordingly. Some instruments are only available by special arrangement. In addition, various departments and centers have contributed towards the cost of operations and members of these entities will generally be given privileged access if instruments are over-reserved.
  • After-hours and weekend access for independent users is allowed, though users must acknowledge safety procedures and be aware of the exit routes, fire extinguishers, eyewash stations, etc.
  • New users and those that require ongoing assistance of Reserve members should schedule their work during normal business hours. 

TRAINING POLICY

  • All users must be fully trained by an Instrument Caretaker (SuperUser) designated by IRM Research Operations prior to using the instrument.
  • Using equipment without receiving training will be considered a violation of the Stem Cell Reserve use policy.
  • Training is specific to each instrument and must be conducted prior to first use. Contact [email protected]
  • When possible, read the manual page that is provided on the equipment page. 
  • If needed, contact the equipment manager to ask about training requirements. This person is located on each instrument page under "Equipment Contact." 
  • If a user has prior experience with a certain piece of equipment, training may be truncated, but access can only be granted by creating a StemCell Reserve account.
  • For specialized instruments, completion of instrument training is required to access the booking calendar.

SAFETY

  • Users must be trained in biosafety, following institutional policies.
  • Proper Personal Protective Equipment should be worn at all times.
  • Each user is responsible for the removal and safe disposal of any materials they use.
  • If you use an instrument consistently, its location should be listed on your biosafety protocol. 

USER RESPONSIBILITY POLICY

  • Users must follow all Stem Cell Reserve and institutional rules and safety regulations.
  • Users are responsible for the correct operation and care of the instruments they are using as indicated within users guides, during training sessions, or verbally communicated by Instrumentation Owners.
  • Users are responsible for the shut-down (i.e., following any required checklist) of instruments and the clean-up (i.e., disposable plasticware, specimens, peripheral equipment, and other materials must be removed, cleaned, or thrown away) of utilized spaces.
  • Users are responsible for reporting breakages, system failures, etc. to [email protected] immediately.
  • Users are responsible for repair or service costs arising from negligent or inappropriate use.
  • Users are responsible for sharing the cost of general maintenance and repair based on use.
  • PIs assume responsibility for their staff, fellows, and students using the center.

SCHEDULING POLICY

  • Access to the instruments is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
  • All reservable instruments must be scheduled. Unscheduled use will be considered a violation of the Stem Cell Reserve use policy.
  • Cancellations can typically be made up to 4 hours before the start of the scheduled time but respectfully, plan appropriately to minimize cancellations.
  • While rare, occasionally some experiments may take extra time due to extenuating circumstances. Please alert the next person on the schedule as soon as you are aware of the delay. In these cases, please be compassionate with the user and try to adjust your schedule accordingly.
  • Establish usage limits may be set on some instruments if necessary to ensure fair access for all users.

COMPUTER AND DATA STORAGE POLICY

  • The Stem Cell Reserve and instrument owners are not responsible for long-term data storage. Any data older than two weeks can and will be removed from the drives without notice. Please take your data with you at the end of your experiment. Time should be factored into your reservation for data transfer.
  • Do not install software on any computers.
  • For the analysis stations, do not transfer your data to the C:\ drive (or desktop) as this will slow down the computer. Please use the data drives available or an online storage like Box. Data drives are not storage drives and data can and will be deleted without notice.
  • Do note that drives fail and data can be lost so back up all important files elsewhere.

INSTRUMENT CONTINUITY POLICY

  • Instruments may become temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, repair, or service.
  • As new instruments come online, users may have the opportunity to “buy-in” on major ownership shares to guarantee access to the instrument.

REVOKED ACCESS

Users may have their access rights suspended if they:

  • Operate reservable instruments without signing up
  • Operate an instrument for which they have not received training.
  • Operate an instrument in an unsafe manner.
  • Are found not cleaning and tidying up the instrument and surrounding area after use.
  • Give access to unregistered users, including sharing instrument login information.
  • Shareable 'lab' accounts are not allowed.
  • Modify the instrument scheduling of other users without their permission.

OTHER

  • Variations from the policies above may occur at the discretion of the Director and/or the Steering Committee.