Dear Colleagues,

As we discussed at yesterday’s Town Hall, the MBL has now assessed that we meet the State of Massachusetts’ requirements for reopening and have indicated so on the written COVID-19 Control Plan which outlines how the MBL will comply with the mandatory safety standards for operation in the COVID-19 reopening period. In addition, the University of Chicago has completed its formal review of MBL’s Research Reopening Plan. After meeting both the state and University of Chicago requirements, Director Nipam Patel today approved the formal process for principal investigators to submit their Research Resumption Plans (RRPs) to begin reopening the campus for the resumption of research. Reopening plans for administrative departments, housing and dining, and educational programming continue to be developed. Work in those areas that can be done remotely must continue to be conducted remotely.

Reopening MBL website has been created on the MBL Intranet. The site contains a number of important policies and procedures that apply to all staff, as well information and resources specific to the research community including guidelines for research resumption and a Research Resumption Plan (RRP) template. As a reminder, no Phase I research activities may occur prior to the Director’s approval of a principal investigator’s RRP.

In addition, the Reopening MBL website contains important public health policies and protocols for all staff such as the COVID-19 Workplace Safety Policy and Guidance for Using Masks in MBL Work Areas. Adherence to policies will help us to achieve our goal of providing a safe environment for our entire campus community. I urge all staff to review and familiarize yourself with materials on the site including current status of services such as mail, dining, and maintenance that fall under Facilities and Services.

All staff will be required to complete a short training program (MBL Reopening Training) and sign an electronic form affirming that they acknowledge COVID-19 safety training and attesting that they will comply with all safety precautions. This training is web-based and hosted on the Inspired eLearning website, the same site used for MBL Security Awareness and Harassment Prevention training.

On Monday, June 15 you will receive an email from “MBL Online Training” with a link and instructions to complete the training.  The training must be completed within seven days, by end of the day on Monday, June 22. After that time building access will be disabled for anyone that has not yet completed the training.  From Tuesday, June 23 forward, once you complete your training MBL Security will re-enable your building access within 48 hours.

If you have any questions or have trouble accessing the training, contact helpdesk@mbl.edu. For general questions about MBL public health policies, contact your supervisor or hr@mbl.edu.

Thank you all for your diligence as we enter this new phase at the MBL.

Paul Speer
Chief Operating Officer