Affirmations from Friends of ERGRF

The Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation's advocacy and outreach on biosafety issues has had a global impact in raising awareness with life scientists on the importance of good biosafety practice in the animal facility and the laboratory environment. The ERGRF has often pointed out to biosafety professionals that we are heroes. As a biosafety professional I would like to state that the Foundation staff, Board of Directors and most importantly the Griffin Family are biosafety heroes as well. Thank you for all you do.

The Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation is a vital leader in the quest for enhancing safety and quality working conditions for the professionals who care for the animals in research facilities. The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science values our partnership with the ERG Foundation and enjoys working in tandem to be "safer together".

The efforts at (ERGRF) are quite unique, at once, both solidly committed to the latest advances in science and technology while also remaining passionate about their values and mission. Rarely do you see an organization that is so deeply committed to highly technical worker protection efforts connect so deeply with others. They really celebrate the goodness of people helping people do the right thing to make the world a safer, better place.

What I most appreciate about the work of the Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation is the attention to possibilities rather than problems, on building on strengths rather than harping on weaknesses, and on establishing partnerships rather than hierarchies. I appreciate their willingness to engage personally and professionally and to tap into and harness the passion and dedication of numerous individuals, regardless of perspective, expertise, or location. Every time I hear Caryl or Jim tell Beth's story or describe the amazing work that is the product of that tragedy, I hear another angle, another possibility, another opportunity to live up to the mission of Safe Research Saves Lives and I become re-dedicated to making that happen.

Through generous sponsorship from the ERG Research Foundation, the Collaboration for Animal Research Education and Safety (CARES) program was presented on our campus. This dynamic training program provided basic and in depth biosafety training for over 20 animal care technicians, veterinarians, and researchers. The impact was immeasurable as it established a strong foundation of biosafety education for what we consider to be an at risk population of employees, animal care technicians. The program was tremendous and our technicians still talk about what they learned and the methods in which the training was presented. By building on the CARES program, our site specific and animal specific biosafety training program is much more effective. Thank you for helping us to work together safely.

ERGRF has been a key partner for our MENA BBIC Process and I would like to express here, on behalf of members of the Steering Committee, and in my capacity of past President of the BBIC Process and its actual Vice President, my sincere gratitude to the Foundation for supporting BBIC on the way to safer communities in the MENA countries.
The work undergone by the foundation to help research laboratories acquire the necessary capacity to solve life sciences enigmas is an outstanding one. I come from a developing country and have been struggling doing scientific research for over 22 years because of lack of funding resources. Reaching scientific objectives is a real challenge. When I look at what ERGRF does I truly valorize your work and spirit of sharing and helping others. All I can tell you is Bravo!
Finally, I personally valorize the warm friendship we built together. I will never forget Ms. Griffin's speech in Amman last BBIC Conference. That was for me an excellent story that every man and women in the world should know.

ERGRF leadership has been a great asset to our institution's focus on safe animal based research. Both by providing information at national meetings for the biosafety and laboratory animal communities as well as we were also happy to sponsor a regional presentation by Mr. Jim Welch, Executive Director to our Non-Human Primate research, Animal care, regulatory oversight as well as biosafety teams at our institution this past year that was enthusiastically recieved.