diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e78a91c..9ffe834 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ venv.bak/
 
 # Rope project settings
 .ropeproject
+.vscode
 
 # mkdocs documentation
 /site
diff --git a/src/labs/api.py b/src/labs/api.py
index e6ab57c..3466790 100644
--- a/src/labs/api.py
+++ b/src/labs/api.py
@@ -10,10 +10,10 @@
   API endpoints are built and served using the FastAPI micro-framework.
 
 """
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from . import __title__, __version__
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, Request, status, WebSocket
-from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
 from fastapi.routing import APIRoute
 
 from .settings import settings
@@ -39,12 +39,25 @@ def generate_operation_id(route: APIRoute) -> str:
     return route.name
 
 
+@asynccontextmanager
+async def lifespan(_fastapi: FastAPI):
+    if broker.is_worker_process:
+        # TaskIQ configurartion so we can share FastAPI dependencies in tasks
+        await broker.startup()
+    
+    yield
+
+    if broker.is_worker_process:
+        # On shutdown, we need to shutdown the broker
+        await broker.shutdown()
+
+
 """A FastAPI application that serves handlers
 """
 app = FastAPI(
     title=__title__,
     version=__version__,
-    description=settings.api_router.__doc__,
+    description=str(settings.api_router.__doc__),
     docs_url=settings.api_router.path_docs,
     root_path=settings.api_router.path_root,
     terms_of_service=settings.api_router.terms_of_service,
@@ -52,6 +65,7 @@ def generate_operation_id(route: APIRoute) -> str:
     license_info=settings.api_router.license_info,
     openapi_tags=settings.api_router.open_api_tags,
     generate_unique_id_function=generate_operation_id,
+    lifespan=lifespan
 )
 
 
@@ -67,23 +81,7 @@ async def websocket_endpoint(websocket: WebSocket):
 app.include_router(router_root)
 
 
-# TaskIQ configurartion so we can share FastAPI dependencies in tasks
-@app.on_event("startup")
-async def app_startup():
-    if not broker.is_worker_process:
-        await broker.startup()
-
-# On shutdown, we need to shutdown the broker
-
-
-@app.on_event("shutdown")
-async def app_shutdown():
-    if not broker.is_worker_process:
-        await broker.shutdown()
-
 # Default handler
-
-
 @app.get(
     "/",
     status_code=status.HTTP_200_OK,
@@ -93,5 +91,5 @@ async def root(request: Request) -> RootResponse:
     """
     return RootResponse(
         message="Welcome to the {} API".format(__name__),
-        root_path=request.scope.get("root_path")
+        root_path=str(request.scope.get("root_path"))
     )
diff --git a/src/labs/db.py b/src/labs/db.py
index 6ac6607..c6d5312 100644
--- a/src/labs/db.py
+++ b/src/labs/db.py
@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@
 
 """
 
+from typing import AsyncGenerator
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine,\
-    AsyncSession
+    AsyncSession, async_sessionmaker, AsyncAttrs
 from sqlalchemy.orm import DeclarativeBase,\
-    configure_mappers, sessionmaker
+    configure_mappers
 
 
 from .settings import settings
@@ -24,19 +25,16 @@
 configure_mappers()
 
 # Get an async session from the engine
+AsyncSessionFactory = async_sessionmaker(engine, class_=AsyncSession, expire_on_commit=False)
 
 
-async def get_async_session() -> AsyncSession:
-    async_session = sessionmaker(
-        engine, class_=AsyncSession, expire_on_commit=False
-    )
-    async with async_session() as session:
+async def get_async_session() -> AsyncGenerator[AsyncSession, None]:
+    async with AsyncSessionFactory() as session:
         yield session
 
-# Used by the ORM layer to describe models
-
 
-class Base(DeclarativeBase):
+# Used by the ORM layer to describe models
+class Base(DeclarativeBase, AsyncAttrs):
     """
     SQLAlchemy 2.0 style declarative base class
     https://bit.ly/3WE3Srg
diff --git a/src/labs/email.py b/src/labs/email.py
index dd6f773..7b8b29f 100644
--- a/src/labs/email.py
+++ b/src/labs/email.py
@@ -14,11 +14,22 @@
 Redmail docs are located at https://red-mail.readthedocs.io/
 """
 import os
-from redmail import EmailSender
+from redmail.email.sender import EmailSender
 
 from .settings import settings
 
-sender = EmailSender(
+# Custom factory to be able to set the sender globally
+class EmailSenderFactory(EmailSender):
+    @property
+    def sender(self):
+        return self.sender
+    
+    @sender.setter
+    def sender(self, sender: str):
+        self.sender = sender
+
+
+sender = EmailSenderFactory(
     host=settings.smtp.host,
     port=settings.smtp.port,
     username=settings.smtp.user.get_secret_value(),