Eight labs and one IC participated in the 2021 NIH Freezer Challenge to improve freezer management, increase freezer reliability, and reduce energy consumption.
The challenge was held from January 1 to May 1 of 2021. Challenge initiatives ranged from maintenance options, such as defrosting freezers, to laboratory best-management practices, such as changing the temperature setting of Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) freezers from -80°C to -70°C. Changing the temperature setting of an ULT freezer from -80°C to -70°C reduces the amount of work that the compressor does, which increases freezer reliability and reduces energy consumption by about 20%. These results show the power each lab has to incrase freezer reliabilty while also protecting the environment. Imagine what we could do if the entire NIH joined in! Participate in the 2021 Freezer Challenge to help out!
| 2021 NIH Freezer Challenge Participants |
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| IC | LAB | PI | Freezer Challenge POC |
| NCI | Laboratory of Cell Biology | Michael M. Gottesman, M.D. | Barbara Murphy, M.S., M.T. |
| NCI | Molecular Oncology and Gene Transfer Section | Dennis Hickstein, M.D. | Thomas Bauer, Ph.D. |
| NEI | Laboratory of Immunology, Molecular immunology Section | Charles Egwuagu, Ph.D. | Cheng-Rong Yu, Ph.D., M.D. |
| NHLBI | Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies | Christopher Hourigan, M.D., D.Phil. | Chidera Nosiri |
| NIAID | Viral Epidemiology and Immunity Unit | Leah Katzelnick, Ph.D., MPH | Ana Coello Escoto |
| NIDDK | Genetics and Metabolism Section of LDB | Caroline C. Philpott, M.D. | Minoo Shakoury-Elizeh |
| NIEHS | RTP Campus Freezer Replacement Initiative | | Kerri Hartung/Paul Johnson |
| NIEHS | In Vivo Neurobiology | Guohong Cui, M.D., Ph.D. | Amy Papaneri, M.S. |
| NIEHS | Comparative Medicine Branch, Quality Assurance Lab | David Kurtz, D.V.M, Ph.D. | Tanya Whiteside |
| NIEHS | Reproductive Medicine Group, RDBL | Carmen Williams, M.D., Ph.D. | Elizabeth Padilla-Banks |
| NINDS | Translational Neuroradiology Section | Daniel S. Reich, M.D., Ph.D. | Amanda Lee |
| 2021 Freezer Challenge Initiatives |
| Challenge Initiatives | Total |
| Conduct a complete freezer defrost | 60 freezers and refrigerators |
| Replace old freezers/refrigerators with an energy efficient model | 67 freezers and refrigerators |
| Discard samples that are no longer needed | 30,096 samples |
| Retire unnecessary freezers (-86°C) | 7 freezers |
| Retire unnecessary freezers (-20°C to -40°C) | 13 freezers |
| Retire unnecessary refrigerators (4°C) | 8 refrigerators |
| Maintain an electronic sample inventory | 137 freezers and refrigerators |
| Share freezer space with other researchers | 45 freezers and refrigerators |
| Change the ULT freezer temperature to (-70°C) | 17 freezers
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