Research-trained biosafety
for labs that move fast
20 years in life sciences, from the bench to the safety office. I build the programs, write the SOPs, and train the teams so your research stays compliant and your people stay safe.
Your research is moving. Your safety program isn't.
I work with a lot of labs where the science outpaced the safety infrastructure. Not because anyone was careless, because building a proper program takes time nobody had. Here's what I usually see.
There's no safety program, or it's on paper only.
You know you need SOPs, manuals, and documented procedures, but they haven't been written yet, or they were written years ago and nobody's looked at them since. When an auditor walks in, you're scrambling.
Training is a checkbox, not a culture.
Researchers sit through the annual refresher and forget it by lunch. The real safety conversations, the 'why' behind the protocols, never happen. And that gap between the paperwork and what actually happens in the lab? That's where incidents start.
Regulations keep changing and nobody's tracking them.
Federal, state, local, the rules are dense and they shift. If nobody's job is to stay current on all of it, things fall through the cracks.
The safety person is also doing five other jobs.
Your lab safety officer is also running experiments, managing projects, or handling HR tasks. Safety needs dedicated attention from someone who's done this full-time, who can walk into your facility and immediately see what needs fixing.
What I do
Training & Safety Culture
I build training that researchers actually remember.
Safety Program Development & Assessment
I'll build it from the ground up or tell you exactly where yours stands.
- •Full safety program assessment against federal, state, and local regulations
- •Development of SOPs, safety manuals, and institutional policies
- •Gap analysis with prioritized action plan
- •Documentation review and regulatory alignment
Regulatory Compliance & Documentation
I make sure your paperwork holds up when it matters.
- •Biosafety, chemical safety, and EHS regulatory compliance reviews
- •Contract, protocol, and statement of work review
- •Occupational health and respiratory protection program support
- +1 more
Risk Assessment & Consulting
I identify the risks before they become incidents.
- •Work site, equipment, and experimental hazard risk assessments
- •Biohazard use authorization and protocol review
- •Incident investigation and corrective action plans
- +1 more
BSL-3 Facility Safety & Operations
I've supervised BSL-3 operations. I know what they need.
- •BSL-3 facility inspection and operational review
- •Safety committee coordination and facilitation
- •Select agent program support and guidance
- +1 more
This might be a good fit if...
I work with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, biotech startups, and academic institutions where the safety program needs to be built, rebuilt, or brought up to standard. If any of this sounds familiar, let's talk.
You're a growing lab or facility that needs a safety program built from scratch, SOPs, manuals, training, all of it
You're preparing for an inspection and want someone who's been through the process to walk you through it
Your researchers need real safety training, not just slides they click through once a year
You need an experienced biosafety officer but can't justify a full-time hire yet
You have BSL-2 or BSL-3 operations and want a second set of eyes on your practices and documentation
Ekaterina Semenyuk, Ph.D., RBP, CPBCA, ASP
I spent the first twenty years of my career at the lab bench. Then something shifted. I realized I could have a bigger impact by protecting the people doing the research than by running one more experiment myself. I moved into biosafety and discovered that all those years at the bench gave me something most safety professionals don't have, I understand what researchers actually do, because I've done it.
Since making that transition I managed consulting projects across hospitals, pharma companies, and academic institutions. I focus on practical risk assessment, safety program development, and training, with a particular interest in helping smaller and primarily undergraduate institutions build biosafety and laboratory safety programs that fit their resources and research profile.
What I bring to every engagement is that combination: deep scientific training and real-world safety experience. I don't just know the regulations, I know the lab. And that makes the conversation with your researchers very different.
Career Timeline
Education & Credentials
Common Questions
Azelia Labs
Ekaterina’s consulting work is delivered through Azelia Labs, a biosafety and research-compliance practice serving research institutions, biotech companies, and government laboratories.
Get in touch
Let's talk about
your safety program.
I take on a small number of clients at a time so I can give each one real attention. Whether you're building a safety program, fixing an existing one, or just want to talk through what's going on in your lab, I'm happy to have that conversation.
Greater Indianapolis, Indiana · Available for remote consulting and travel