All funds for courses taught in the undergraduate Program in Biology are administered through the MDL office. The office will provide statements to course leaders upon request. Call either Grace Seleman at 863-2482 or Chuck Toth at 863-3464.

All ordering for courses taught in the MDL facility must be done through the MDL office.

A guest lecturer may receive a $100-$250 honorarium fee and up to $200 allowance for travel expenses. Exceptions must be pre-arranged and pre-authorized by the Dean. Requests exceeding the stated amounts after the event will not be considered.  

Undergraduate teaching assistants work a standard 6-hour week, for 14 weeks, a total of 84 hours per semester. They receive the following compensation:

Undergraduates who TA the same Biomed (BIOL) course for the second (or more) time, receive $14.80/hr, $1,243.20, for the semester.

Undergraduates with prior experience as a Biomed (BIOL) UTA, but in a different Biomed course receive $13.60/hr, $1,142.40, for the semester.

Undergraduates who TA any Biomed (BIOL) course for the first time, receive $13.00/hr, $1,092.00, for the semester.

The MDL office posts and hires all biology UTA positions in Workday. I-9 documentation must be completed at the Brown Business Center located at Page-Robinson Hall, 2nd Floor, Room 213, before a student begins working. In addition, all UTAs working in the "wet lab" environment must complete the Laboratory Safety course offered by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. 

Supplemental teaching assistants are graduate level assistants who work a standard 6-hour week, for 14 weeks, a total of 84 hours per semester. They receive the following compensation:

Recent undergraduate alumnus with previous TA experience or a graduate student receives: $22.45/hr, $1,885.80, for the semester.

The MDL office hires all Supplemental Teaching Assistants in Workday. I-9 documentation must be completed at the Brown Business Center located at Page-Robinson Hall, 2nd Floor, Room 213, before a Supplemental Teaching Assistant begins working.  In addition, all Supplemental Teaching Assistants working in the "wet lab" environment must complete the Laboratory Safety course offered by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. 

Call the MDL office, 863-2482, to schedule audiovisual equipment needs. The MDL provides equipment and technical expertise to the Division.

Divisional Meeting Rooms Scheduling Procedures:

BMC 115A, 212, and 217; SFH Atrium Space

Grace Seleman in the MDL office handles the daily scheduling for these rooms on weekdays and for use on weekends.

MDL Laboratory Rooms Scheduling Procedures:

BMC 08, 010, 011, 012A, 012B, 112A, 112B, 112C, 112D, 121

Chuck Toth, the MDL Director, handles the daily scheduling of lab space.

It is expected that rooms be left in the same condition as they are found.  Furniture and equipment may not be removed from a room without permission from MDL personnel.

During the academic year, the perimeter doors of the BMC are secured by card access; Monday-Friday the main entrance doors on Meeting Street are unlocked at 7:30 AM and remain open until 8:00 PM. On Saturday and Sunday they remain locked all day. Applications for card access may be obtained from Chuck Toth, the MDL Director.

Lab scheduling should be arranged with the MDL Director, Chuck Toth (863-3464).  Requests for use of the MDL facilities for special sessions such as evening and weekend use should be made sufficiently in advance to allow for room assignments and rescheduling of the technical staff's time.

1. A protocol of experiments, together with lists of equipment and supplies needed for the experiment are to be submitted sufficiently in advance of the experiment to permit the staff to accumulate the materials.  Course requests for laboratory preparations are filled on a "first come, first served" basis.  Protocols that are handed in late cannot be met to the detriment of other course preparations.
2. The MDL Director and Technical Staff will be available for consultation and help with the organization and execution of laboratory exercises.
3. It is hoped that the instructors will utilize the Technical Staff to the fullest extent possible. The instructors are also encouraged to teach special procedures to the MDL Technical Staff.
4. All experiments involving radioactive materials must be cleared with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
5. All experiments involving the potential risk of blood borne pathogens must be cleared with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
6. Whenever possible, experiments should be terminated by 5 PM.  It is understood that there will be times when meaningful experiments can only be done when they extend beyond 5 PM. In these cases, the following should be considered:

• A faculty member or graduate teaching assistant must be present at all times after 5 PM and should secure the laboratory after the last student has left. No one is allowed to work after 10:00 PM.
• Whenever possible, preparations that can be accomplished before the beginning of the lab session should be done, so that the students can begin in a more advanced stage of the experiment and the experiment terminated at an earlier time.

1. Students are not allowed to work in the Multidisciplinary Laboratories unless a faculty member or graduate teaching assistant is present.  Special arrangements can be made for study groups.
2. The Technical Staff is available to instruct students in the proper use of equipment and time should be made available during the lab for such instruction. Students should not use equipment without adequate instruction, and students are responsible for the care of equipment and supplies.
3. Instructors and their students will adhere to safety regulations as set forth by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. Everyone in the lab space must wear impact goggles per Rhode Island general law. 
4. Students are responsible for rinsing dirty glassware and placing it in the receptacles provided.  Items to be sterilized should be placed in receptacles provided for that purpose. Students are responsible for cleaning their own area.
5. Broken glassware, needles, etc. should be thrown away only in the special receptacles or biohazard containers provided for them.
6. No food or drink is permitted in the MDL.
7. Students will not be allowed in laboratory areas with open toed shoes or shorts.
8. Any materials to be saved should be marked with the name of student, course number and date; otherwise, materials remaining after class will be discarded. Refrigerators and incubators will be emptied on a routine basis and any unlabeled materials discarded.
9. Spills, accidents, or other mishaps must be reported to the instructor and the MDL staff.
10. Casual visitors are not permitted in the MDL.

It is the responsibility of instructors to see that students receive adequate instruction in the use and care of microscopes. At the end of the laboratory exercise microscopes should be returned to their respective (numbered) cabinets. Microscopes should be used only in the area where they are housed and should not be moved from bench to bench.

• An inventory of all equipment purchased for the Multidisciplinary Laboratories is available to the instructors. Manuals for all instruments are available but should not be removed from the laboratories.
• When equipment is not in use for teaching, it may be loaned for research use within the Division upon the following conditions: 
  • The equipment will be loaned upon written request of a professor who will assume all responsibility for its care and return. No equipment will be loaned to students, assistants or associates.
  • The MDL Director must approve each request.
  • It is the responsibility of the borrower to pick up and return the equipment.  Any costs involved in moving the equipment will be charged to the borrower.
  • Equipment must be returned upon 24 hours' notice.
  • Equipment should be returned in perfect operating order.  Any repairs necessary to restore the equipment to its original condition will be charged to the research funds of the borrower.
  • Any service required during the period of loan will be paid by the research funds of the borrower. If an instrument is covered by a maintenance contract, the borrower may be asked to pay a fair share of the costs from his research funds.
• Please consult the MDL Director about any new equipment requirements.