Overview
This design sprint focused on identifying and scaling solutions to engineering challenges faced in diagnostic containment laboratories identified as priorities by an expert advisory committee convened for the challenge. The Built Environment Advisory Committee identified facility design and maintenance, waste management, and equipment maintenance as the three most pressing challenges to the sustainable function of diagnostic containment laboratories. A call for applications was released in early June 2025 which resulted in the selection of seven teams developing solutions to address at least one of the thematic areas described above.
The cohort demonstrates the breadth of expertise across the BioPREVAIL community and the potential of locally led, globally supported design solutions.
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Teams
Innovators creating practical solutions for safer, more sustainable laboratories.
Teams selected for the Built Environment Design Challenge represent a diverse mix of engineers, architects, laboratory practitioners, biosafety experts, and designers from around the world. They were chosen from sixty six applications across thirty one countries, based on feasibility, innovation, alignment with BioPREVAIL goals, and relevance to real world laboratory needs. Teams were paired with lead mentors from the BioPREVAIL innovation ecosystem who provided expert consultation for the duration of the design challenge as well as spot mentors who provided consultation on a variety of topics as needed.
The selected projects contribute to strengthening global biosecurity by advancing context-specific innovations that reduce dependence on vulnerable global supply chains, improve containment of biological materials, and enhance local capacity to respond to infectious disease threats.
Collectively, these initiatives reinforce resilience, sustainability, and self-sufficiency in laboratory and health infrastructures worldwide—key pillars for preventing and mitigating biological risks at the global level.
Meet The Teams
AFMS International
AFMS International
Country: South Africa
Team Members: Abraham Van Rensburg
Problem
High-end effluent decontamination systems cost up to $150,000 and rely on imported parts and expertise, making them unsustainable in resource-limited contexts.
Solution
A simple undercounter effluent treatment system using redundant tanks and manual processes is proposed. It avoids complex parts, relying instead on locally sourced materials and simple operation.
Added Value
This sustainable, low-cost alternative democratizes access to safe liquid waste management and reduces long-term maintenance costs, making it practical for low-resource labs worldwide.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
The low-cost effluent decontamination system ensures reliable treatment of infectious liquid waste using simple, locally sourced materials. By preventing intentional or accidental release of pathogens into community water systems, it protects both environmental and public health, strengthening global biosecurity through decentralized and sustainable containment.
BioAssets Corporation
BioAssets Corporation
Country: Philippines
Team Members: Zyne Baybay
Problem
The Philippines lacks rapid, point-of-need diagnostic capacity during animal disease outbreaks. The first Mobile Biocontainment Laboratory (MBL) developed by BioAssets is highly vulnerable to transport stress, requiring costly recalibration and repairs.
Solution
Tailored shock-absorption systems, modular equipment designs, and embedded sensors for remote monitoring are introduced. Training programs for operators strengthen sustainability.
Added Value
The MBL is the first Filipino-designed rapid-response mobile laboratory. It provides equitable rural access to outbreak diagnostics, strengthens food security, and reduces dependence on permanent labs.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
The Mobile Biocontainment Laboratory enables rapid and secure diagnostics in remote areas, reducing dependence on centralized high-containment facilities. By ensuring controlled handling and transport of potentially infectious materials, it reinforces global biosecurity by minimizing risks of sample loss, theft, or deliberate misuse during outbreak responses.
GSSHealth
GSSHealth
Country: United States
Team Members: Paula Fernandes
Problem
Diagnostic labs in remote or resource-limited settings lack reliable electricity, undermining biosafety cabinets, diagnostics, and cold chain systems, which delays outbreak response.
Solution
Portable solar-powered diagnostic systems with battery backup are paired with molecular diagnostic platforms and biosafety infrastructure. Hybrid solar-UPS models are included for resilience.
Added Value
The system ensures uninterrupted diagnostics even off-grid, reducing reliance on generators. It is modular, sustainable, and low-maintenance, providing a transformative solution for rural and fragile health systems.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
The solar-powered diagnostic system maintains safe and uninterrupted testing in off-grid or unstable environments. By securing diagnostic operations against energy disruptions and unauthorized handling of infectious materials, it advances global biosecurity through resilient and self-sufficient laboratory systems.
Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC)
Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC)
Country: Cambodia
Team Members: Sofia Perez
Problem
IPC struggles with limited biobanking capacity, reliance on costly global supply chains, and growing plastic, wastewater, and energy waste. These issues threaten sample integrity during outbreaks and raise operational costs.
Solution
The project proposes a circular plastic waste-to-resource system. Decontaminated lab plastics are converted into 3D-printed cold storage consumables, while recycled autoclave water and freezer heat are reused.
Added Value
This approach reduces waste, strengthens outbreak preparedness, and allows rapid local production of consumables. It positions IPC as a model for resilient, sustainable labs in resource-limited settings.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
By transforming laboratory plastic waste into reusable materials for 3D-printed cold storage, this project enhances local self-reliance and reduces environmental contamination. It strengthens global biosecurity by securing biobanking operations against supply chain disruptions and shortages, while ensuring sustained sample integrity during outbreaks—reducing vulnerabilities that could lead to intentional misuse or loss of biological materials.
Research World Partnerships
Research World Partnerships
Country: Kenya
Team Members: Ronald Odero
Problem
Biomedical waste in Kenya is often poorly contained. Bins overflow, lack tamper-proofing, and spill, exposing workers and communities to hazardous material. Facilities also lack data to optimize waste management.
Solution
The SL-BioLock Smart Waste Bin is a low-cost retrofit of local bins, adding tamper-proof locks, fill indicators, weighing modules, and spill protection.
Added Value
The innovation improves safety and accountability, generates real-time waste data for incinerator management, and remains affordable through local fabrication, ensuring equitable access.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
The SL-BioLock Smart Waste Bin prevents pathogen leaks by ensuring safe containment of infectious biomedical waste. By reducing the risk of accidental or uncontrolled pathogen dispersal to humans, animals, or the environment, it enhances global biosecurity and protects communities from potential misuse or accidental exposure to hazardous materials.
T2 Design Lab
T2 Design Lab
Country: South Africa
Team Members: Thembalethu Moyo
Problem
High-containment laboratories (HCLs) in Africa are often imported, over-engineered, and expensive to maintain, leaving local institutions dependent on donor funding.
Solution
The HCL Sandbox Design emphasizes “function over form,” integrating vernacular architectural design with modular, locally maintainable systems. HVAC systems and materials are chosen for affordability and availability in Africa.
Added Value
This design reduces capital and maintenance costs while remaining compliant with biosafety standards. By contextualizing design to African realities, it offers a sustainable path to resilient lab infrastructure.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
Contribution to global biosecurity: The HCL Sandbox Design integrates local architectural methods and regionally available materials to build affordable, maintainable high-containment laboratories. By addressing the specific needs of the African continent, this design strengthens regional biosecurity infrastructure to operate independently from external resources, enhancing global capacity for pathogen control and safe research.
University of Cape Town / WNWN International
University of Cape Town / WNWN International
Country: South Africa
Team Members: Sarah Fernandes
Problem
Guanidinium Thiocyanate (GTC) waste from viral load testing is corrosive and improperly disposed of in many African countries, often discharged untreated into sewer systems.
Solution
A bioremediation approach using thiocyanate-degrading microbes (e.g., Thiobacillus spp.) is developed for treating GTC waste. Systems can range from low-tech shake flasks to bioreactors.
Added Value
The solution provides a nature-based, low-cost, and energy-efficient method for hazardous waste disposal. It enables safe, scalable waste management and protects water systems.
Contribution to Global Biosecurity
This low-cost bioremediation system neutralizes hazardous Guanidinium Thiocyanate waste using naturally occurring microbes. By eliminating toxic laboratory by-products before they can be misused or released into the environment, it contributes to global biosecurity and environmental safety through sustainable waste neutralization.
- Download the Call for Applications