Associate Provost for Research Safety
poseiowusu@uchicago.edu
As Associate Provost for Research Safety, Patrick heads the University’s Office of Research Safety (ORS) and is responsible for providing leadership in the development, implementation, and enforcement of policies, procedures, and best practices related to research safety.
He is responsible for ensuring that all research activities, laboratories, and facilities comply with local, state, federal, and international safety regulations, and guidelines. Patrick manages safety training programs for researchers, staff, and students to ensure that all personnel involved in research are educated on safety protocols and best practices. He oversees regular safety inspections of research facilities, equipment, and procedures. Patrick ensures compliance with safety standards and regulations through his oversight of the biological safety, chemical safety, radiation, and laser safety units of ORS.
Patrick joined the University of Chicago in 2015 as a postdoctoral scholar where he studied host-pathogen interaction of Yersinia pestis, leading to the discovery of FPR1 as the plague receptor on host immune cells. In 2019, he joined ORS as a Biological Safety Officer and the Alternate Responsible Official for UChicago’s Federal Select Agent program. Patrick works closely with researchers, faculty, staff, and relevant departments to ensure that safety measures are integrated into research practices. He collaborates with other institutional safety offices and regulatory agencies. He also works closely with divisional research safety specialists, the University Environmental Health and Safety Office, the Animal Resources Center, and as appropriate, with Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the Marine Biological Laboratory. He is a voting member of the UChicago IBC, the HTRL IBC and the Argonne National Laboratory IBC.
Patrick is an active member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA International), and the Midwest Area Biosafety Network (MABioN). He has received training in OSHA 40–Hour HAZMAT and OSHA Hazardous Material Handling. He is also a Certified HAZWOPER/HAZMAT Train the Trainer.
Patrick graduated with a BSc in Biological Science from the University of Cape Coast, MPhil in Medical Microbiology from the University of Ghana and earned his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Dakota. He performed postdoctoral studies at the Howard Taylor Ricketts Laboratory (HTRL) in the Microbiology department at the University of Chicago.