Before coming to campus, be sure to be vaccinated or be tested.
Research
research safety guidelines
PPE
Face Coverings should be worn in accordance with the general guidelines and the laboratory safety plan, as established by the PI. PPE is to be ordered through a central system. Please use the PPE Request Form to bulk order PPE for Hunter College labs.
Hygiene, Cleaning and Disinfection
Research PI’s and/or their designers will be responsible for cleaning and disinfecting laboratory spaces and shared research facilities. Shared lab spaces and equipment should be disinfected at the start and end of each shift or use. Laboratory supervisors should develop and post disinfection procedures for each space and equipment. Each laboratory will need to maintain its own log for the disinfection of shared spaces or equipment.
Disinfecting wipes or spray disinfectant and paper towels will be provided to all designated meeting areas, laboratories and shared resource spaces. PI’s or designated personnel shall be responsible for wiping down equipment daily.
It is recommended for equipment such as keyboards, microscopes, etc. that personnel wipe them down both before and after use. We encourage each staff member to give frequent attention to decontaminating commonly used surfaces (desks, benches, instrument panels, cabinet handles, etc.).
Handwashing with soap and water for 20 seconds immediately upon arrival is mandatory, and frequent handwashing during the day is strongly encouraged.
Hand sanitizer will continue to be available at all lab building entrances.
Staff shall resume their laboratory duties in keeping with the Workplace Guidelines. Supervisors should work with their staff to arrange work schedules.
RESEARCH RESTART GUIDE
Hunter College will follow the overall guidance of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CUNY.
Hunter College shall follow the approved safety plan for all on-campus activities.
For Off-Campus Research, researchers shall follow the guidelines issued by the external entity.
Researchers who collect and store protected health information (PHI) should develop procedures that protect the confidentiality of PHI when it is transferred, received, handled, shared or stored using remote data collection platforms or solutions per the Acceptable Use of University Data in the Cloud Policy.
For studies of data access and analysis covered by data use agreements (DUA), PIs may need to request modification if a different platform is required beyond that covered by the DUA. They should contact Chris Braun, Associate Provost for Research. If the DUA involves human subjects and the protocol requires modification, the IRB modification should be submitted via Ideate.
Researchers should follow CUNY travel guidance on the CUNY Coronavirus portal. For guidance on reimbursement from federally-funded travel – see appropriate links or contact your Program Director.
Researchers can continue to pursue potential commercial applications (both COVID and non-COVID inventions) during this time by filing invention disclosures, seeking intellectual property protection, establishing contact with companies, writing SBIR proposals and other related work. Researchers can contact CUNY’s Technology Commercialization Office for additional information.
Critical and essential research on the campuses requires support for faculty developing and submitting proposals, and for their ongoing management of sponsored programs. Financial management of sponsored program support services have been provided remotely without disruption since New York State PAUSE went into effect.
Hunter College hosts clinics, such as the Speech and Language Clinic (at Brookdale) and the Education Literacy Lab (at 68th Street), which both serve visiting clientele. These clinics will need to file a Safety Plan and follow the general guidelines.
Investigators who have research that takes place off campus can use the following process: Complete this Off-Campus Human Subjects Research Application and route it to Chris Braun, Associate Provost for Research. The investigator and team will be required to follow the Guidelines for Hunter or the host institution, whichever is stricter. Hunter faculty will be responsible for following all protocols and procedures of the host facility. If the Hunter plan is more conservative on issues like face coverings or distancing, we will follow the Hunter Guidance.
All research engagement, whether funded or not, requires compliance with federal regulations, guidelines and University policies.