BUGSS Membership Levels
- Community membership – be a part of the community and contribute 5 volunteer hours per month.
- Power membership – use the communal lab space without engaging with the community or providing volunteer hours.
- Your Lab Bench Entrepreneur membership – for those looking to rent their own lab bench and equipment.
If you are interested in learning more about our facilities, instruments and resources, visit the Lab Resources and Lab Safety pages.
About Your Lab Bench (YLB) entrepreneur membership:
Your Laboratory Bench is an affordable laboratory space for entry-stage biotech innovators. Your Laboratory Bench membership offers dedicated bench and equipment, access to core lab equipment and other resources, with flexible rental terms in a learning environment. YLB members receive a 2 ft x 5 ft lab bench with a set of used micropipettes (P20, P200, P1000), used microcentrifuge, and under-counter refrigerator.
Benefits at BUGSS for YLB Members:
- Month-to-month fee with no long term lease
- 24/7 access to the BUGSS laboratory and facilities
- Use of BUGSS business mailing address
- On-site technical assistance at no charge
- In depth technical and laboratory assistance available for additional fees
- Dedicated dry, refrigerated and freezer (-20°C, -70°C) storage space
- Established vendor accounts for supply ordering
- Free biohazard waste disposal
- Use of common lab equipment (see list at right)
- On-site fitness center
- Secure parking lot
Facilities and Equipment available at the lab:
- Variable temperature incubators, shakers and Sartorius bioreactors
- PCR machines (BioRad C1000 and GeneAmp)
- 96-well Real-time PCR machine (Applied Biosystems 7500)
- Beckman Coulter DU530 UV/Vis spectrophotometer and NanoDrop N1000 spectrophotometer
- Eppendorf 5415C microcentrifuges and tabletop centrifuge
- Equipment for horizontal and vertical gel electrophoresis and visualization
- Scales, pH meter, water baths, vortexes, hot plates, pipet-aids, micropipettes
- Biosafety containment hood, ductless fume hood, and autoclaves
- Opentrons OT-2 Robot
- Compound, dissecting, and fluorescent microscopes
- Multi-Mode Microplate Reader
- Eppendorf Electroporator
Optional add-on to our YLB Membership: Associate’s Membership at Harbor Launch
BUGSS has joined forces with Harbor Launch at IMET (The Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology), a startup incubator located at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Members of both Harbor Launch and BUGSS receive special rates of $150 per month for each membership ($300 monthly for both memberships); joint membership provides access to the wet lab space at BUGSS and also membership in Harbor Launch’s affiliates program which provides business advising. You can read more about it here: https://technical.ly/baltimore/2018/03/20/two-baltimore-biotech-hubs-partnering-help-scientist-entrpreneurs/ or visit the Harbor Launch website to learn more about their affiliates program.
Become a YLB Entrepreneur Member!
To join us as a YLB member, you need to:
- Sign up for a recurring membership using the appropriate link below, which will redirect you to the corresponding PayPal page.
- Send the following materials to Executive Director Lisa Scheifele (lscheifele@bugssonline.org)
- A completed copy of the membership agreement
- A request to set up a New Member Orientation and safety training
- A 1-2 paragraph description of your project (we may request additional information)
- If you want to use any chemical or biological materials that are not already approved for use at BUGSS (see Preapproved List), then you must send us a description of what you wish to use including:
- Safety information (Safety Data sheets)
- Quantities
- Whether you will be using these short-term or long-term
- Plans for disposal (as described in the membership agreement, it is the member’s responsibility to plan and pay for disposal). We are set up with an account through Clym Environmental Services for waste disposal, and you can contact them for a quote.
Ready to join?
Select your preferred membership type and payment frequency.
Power Membership with dedicated lab space
$500/ mo
$6000 / yr
- All the Benefits of a BUGSS Power Membership listed above
- Dedicated lab space that includes 2 ft x 5 ft lab bench with a set of used micropipettes (P20, P200, P1000), used microcentrifuge, and under-counter refrigerator.
Joint Membership with dedicated lab space
$600/ mo
$7200 / yr
- All the Benefits of a BUGSS Power Membership listed above
- All the Benefits of a Harbor Launch Affiliate
- Dedicated lab space that includes 2 ft x 5 ft lab bench with a set of used micropipettes (P20, P200, P1000), used microcentrifuge, and under-counter refrigerator.