IBC Review

Institutional Biosafety Committee

The use of biohazardous materials for purposes of research must be registered and approved with the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the initiation and supervision of all potentially biohazardous work and responsible for preparing and submitting a Protocol Application and IACUC/IBC Application form (available at www.irbnet.org) to the IBC.

The Department Chairperson supervising the PI carries the final responsibility of ensuring all departmental activities involving work with potentially biohazardous material and the agents they might contain are registered. All required record keeping, especially for the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, must be retained via electronic copy for
inspection by the IBC or other authorities.

The IBC Administrator is responsible for reviewing and routing the biohazardous, rDNA, or the synthetic nucleic acids registration form(s) to the IBC, as appropriate. Initial review of these registration forms will be performed by the Committee Administrator to ensure completeness of information provided by the PI, correct assignment of the requested biosafety level as specified in "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories", OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), and/or NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules and the evaluation of the need for the preparation of a special, written Exposure Control Plan (ECP) by the PI. A laboratory specific ECP is necessary giving that every research environment utilizes different layouts, facilities, personnel, procedures, etc. A template for such a plan is available.

The IBC is responsible for:

  • Review and approval of biological hazards and safety practices
  • Formal approval of registrations by the committee
  • Conducting annual inspections of registered research laboratories
  • Overseeing responsibility for biosafety training practices
  • Reporting any significant problems with or violations of the NIH Guidelines and any significant research- related accidents or illness to the appropriate Institutional official
    and to the NIH Office of Biotechnology
    Activities (OBA) within 30 days; and
  • Following the guidelines for membership defined by NIH with the additional requirement of one representative from the Department of Comparative Medicine.