Skilled, Safe, and Trailblazing – Details, episodes & analysis

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

• Preparing for Emergencies – Video 4 by American Chemical Society.
• Andy’s First Acting Job from The Office US on YouTube.
• The Laboratory Safety Institute (2024) Is Weekly Eyewash/Safety Shower Activation Required?

LET US KNOW!

• Have you set up anything to intentionally allow new lab workers or students to practice using an eyewash station?
• And when training, do you include anything about what the experience of being splashed in the eyes with a corrosive agent will be like?
• And, if you haven’t, what is stopping you from doing so?
• Share your stories of hands-on learning for eyewash stations!

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

• Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com
• Follow the podcast community on LinkedIn at ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing
• Leave a comment on this episode

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

Follow the podcast community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing

The first full episode will be available on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025. After which, tune in on the 1st Tuesday of each month for a new episode. Also, check out the LinkedIn community for polls or discussion topics related to each monthly episode.

And, if you are so inspired, you can help shape future episodes by contacting me via LinkedIn or at skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

McKnelly, K.J.; Sokol, W.; Nowick, J.S. (2019) Anaphylaxis Induced by Peptide Coupling Agents: Lessons Learned from Repeated Exposure to HATU, HBTU, and HCTU. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.joc.9b03280

Graham, J.C.; Trejo-Martin, A.; Chilton, M.L.; Kostal, J.; Bercu, J.; Beutner, G.L.; Bruen, U.S.; Dolan, D.G.; Gomez, S.; Hillegass, J.; Nicolette, J.; Schmitz, M. (2022) An Evaluation of the Occupational Health Hazards of Peptide Couplers. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrestox.2c00031

Miralles, J. C., Negro, J. M., Alonso, J. M., García, M., Sánchez-Gascón, F., & Soriano, J. (2003). Occupational rhinitis and bronchial asthma due to TBTU and HBTU sensitization. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12968399/

Hannu, T., Alanko, K., & Keskinen, H. (2006). Anaphylaxis and allergic contact urticaria from occupational airborne exposure to HBTU. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16861336/

OSHA HazComm (29 CFR 1910.1200) https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1200

OSHA Laboratory Standard (29 CFR 1910.1450) https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1450

OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits - Annotated Tables https://www.osha.gov/annotated-pels

OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.134

OSHA General Duty Clause (OSH Act of 1970 Section 5) https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/section5-duties

ACS Webinar: Bonding with Caution: Understanding the Hazards of Peptide Couplers https://www.acs.org/acs-webinars/library/hazards-of-peptide-couplers.html

LET US KNOW!

Have you worked through challenges of working with chemical sensitizers with a lab group? 

If not, has this episode inspired you to start asking more questions about chemical sensitizer use in your labs?

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

o   Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com

o   Follow the podcast community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing

o  Leave a comment on this episode

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice in the Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

ACS CHAS Peer-Led Workshops (accessed 2026-03-30): https://dchas.org/2023/08/22/history-of-the-chas-lst-workshop-2/ 

Hensley, M.S.; Martin, J.A.; Miller, K.A.; Hungwe, K.N. (2024) Laboratory Safety Teams as an Evolving Community of Practice: Exploring the How and Why https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00702

Feldon, D.F.; Litson, K.L.; Jeong, S.; Roksa, J. (2019) Postdocs’ lab engagement predicts trajectories of PhD students’ skill development https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1912488116

Miller, A.J.M.; Tonks, I.A. (2018) Let’s Talk About Safety: Open Communication for Safety Laboratories https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.organomet.8b00627

Martin, J.A.; Miller, K.; Nyansa (now Hensley), M.; Zinn, S.; Stuart, R. (2021) Enhancing Research Productivity through Student-Led Laboratory Safety Teams https://www.acs.org/acs-webinars/library/student-led-safety.html

LET US KNOW!

To try to see things from the graduate student researcher perspective, consider how work inside of labs at your institution gets done. At this point, refrain from assigning blame or jumping directly into who should be responsible. Instead, just think about the situations that these early career people are walking into and what they are seeing.

● Are lab workers working around a mess that existed before them?

● Are they trying to find space in the lab for their own work by moving aside work that no longer belongs to anyone working in this lab?

● Are they trying to address inspection items that they know little about?

● Are they being required to engage with systems that don’t help them do their research better? For example, dysfunctional chemical inventory systems, poorly defined hazardous waste procedures, challenges with space.

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

Email address: SkilledSafeAndTrailblazing@gmail.com

LinkedIn Community: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing

Leave a comment on this episode!

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visithttps://elevenlabs.io/app/home

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

The Lab Safety Institute (accessed 2026-02-04) https://www.labsafety.org/

Provan, D.J.; Woods, D.D.; Dekker, S.W.A.,Rae, A.J. (2020) Safety II professionals: How resilience engineering can transform safety practice https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0951832018309864

LET US KNOW!

Have you run drills with your experts? If you haven’t, what is stopping you from doing so?

Have you incorporated the concept of Guided Adaptability into how you approach safety in labs?

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

o   Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com

o   LinkedIn Community: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing

o  Leave a comment on this episode!

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voices in the introductory story and the Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

For more information about ACS Spring 2026, visit https://acs.digitellinc.com/live/36/page/1270

Organizers for the symposium featured in this episode:

• Becca Powers: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/becca-powers-2a99ba236/⁠
• Leah Kosovsky: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-kosovsky-954111194/⁠
• Devon Leimkuhl: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonleimkuhl/⁠
• James Sappington
• Kyra Tripp: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyra-tripp-932b031b5/⁠
• Amanda Chung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-chung-phd-a83694235/
• Kendra Denlinger: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendra-denlinger-b06874b0/⁠

Select speakers for the symposium featured in this episode:

• Amanda Pitt: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandapitt520/⁠
• Penny Antoniou: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/panayiota-antoniou/⁠
• Dan Scungio: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-scungio-mls-ascp-sls-cqa-asq-chop-a7ba3a16/⁠
• Jason Nagy: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-nagy-ph-d-mls-ascp-qls-8991b071/⁠

Sponsoring Divisions for the symposium featured in this episode:

• ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety: https://dchas.org/
• ACS Division of Chemical Toxicology: https://www.acschemtox.org/

Sponsoring Committees for the symposium featured in this episode:

• ACS Committee on Chemical Safety: https://www.acs.org/about/governance/committees/chemical-safety.html
• ACS Committee on Corporation Associates: https://www.acs.org/about/governance/committees/corporation-associates.html

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Morris, J. (2012) Landmark worker death case continuesagainst UCLA chemistry professor. https://publicintegrity.org/inequality-poverty-opportunity/workers-rights/landmark-worker-death-case-continues-against-ucla-chemistry-professor/

Kemsley, J.N. (2009) Negligence Caused UCLA Death.  https://cen.acs.org/articles/87/i19/Negligence-Caused-UCLA-Death.html

American Chemical Society (accessed 2025-12-19) What IsRAMP? https://institute.acs.org/acs-center/lab-safety/safety-basics-and-ramp/what-is-ramp.html

National Research Council of The National Academies (2011)Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Management of ChemicalHazards, Updated Version. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12654/prudent-practices-in-the-laboratory-handling-and-management-of-chemical

LET US KNOW!

Have you incorporated any training that involves physicality- that involves performing the action rather than just talking about it?

And, if you haven’t, what is stopping you from doing so?

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

o  Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com

o  LinkedIn Community: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing

o  Leave a comment on this episode in Spotify

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Metal Lathe Incident at Yale (2011) https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2011/04/13/michele-dufault-11-dies-in-sterling-chemistry-laboratory-accident/

The OSHA Laboratory Standard (29 CFR 1910.1450) https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1450

National Research Council (US) Committee (2011) Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Management of Chemical Hazards. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK55878/

Thayn, P. et al (2021) The Lone Lab Worker: Best Practices for Protecting Researchers (the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee incident). https://publications.aiha.org/202108-lone-lab-worker

LET US KNOW!

If you are a member of a lab: do you feel like you have a good understanding of how to work safely during non-standard hours in your lab?

If you are a PI: do you discuss your expectations for the work that may occur during non-standard hours with your lab group?

And if you’re in leadership: How are you balancing productivity with the responsibility to keep people safe?

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

o   Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com

o   Follow the podcast community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing

o   Leave a comment on this episode

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/hush

License code: FOEHVBGULZNXKITM

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

• Huising, R. (2014) To Hive or to Hold? ProducingProfessional Authority through Scut Work
• Rae, A. & Provan, D. (2019) Safety work versus thesafety of work

LET US KNOW!

• How common is it at your institution for safety professionals to be in the labs for more than just annual inspections?
• How often do safety professionals and researchers interact at your institution?
• And who is doing scut work at your institution –professional employees or contractors – or someone else?
• Finally, if you are inspired to read either the Rae & Provan paper or the Huising paper that I shared in this episode (linked above), I’m very curious to see what stands out for you!

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

• Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com
• Follow the podcast community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing
• Leave a comment on this episode

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

• Williams, N.D.; Gallardo-Williams, M.T.; Griffith, E.H.; and Bretz, S.L. (2022) Investigating meaningful learning in virtual reality organic chemistry laboratories.
• Jimenez, A.G. and August, D.P. (2025) ⁠Identifying skill inequalities in undergraduate chemistry laboratory teaching⁠.
• Lübeck, G.; Seery, M.K.; and Ryan, B.J. (2025) The impact of teaching practice on student self-efficacy in undergraduate STEM classrooms.
• American Chemical Society (Accessed 2025-07-28) Approved Chemistry Programs.

LET US KNOW!

• When working with students or new employees, have you come across wet lab skills gaps that surprised you?
• And, once identified, did you do anything to help fill those skills gaps? If not, what is preventing you from doing so?
• Or maybe you have personally had an experience in which you came to discover one of your own skills gaps. What was your experience like in working to get that gap filled?

HOW TO LET US KNOW!

• Email address: skilledsafeandtrailblazing@gmail.com
• Follow the podcast community on LinkedIn at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/skilled-safe-and-trailblazing⁠⁠
• Leave a comment on this episode

ElevenLabs was used to create the AI-generated voice Disclaimer at the end of this episode. For more information, visit https://elevenlabs.io/app/home