Formal review by the University’s Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is required for research involving organisms and materials that are managed at biosafety level 2 and for nucleic acid research that is subject to the NIH guidelines.
All research projects requiring IBC review are currently submitted electronically through IRBNet.
Researchers should submit the following:
- Registration and Risk Assessment for Biological and Recombinant/Synthetic Nucleic Acid Research
- Standard operating procedure(s) for handling, storage, and disposal of biological organisms/materials.
- A laboratory-specific Biosafety Manual (The University’s Biosafety Manual may be used as a template and provides information on biosafety cabinets, laboratory setup requirements, disposal of biological organisms and materials, selection and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and incident response/spill cleanup).
- A laboratory-specific Exposure Control Plan, if working with human blood or other potentially infectious materials. The University’s Exposure Control Plan may be used as a template.
IBC review will include:
- independent assessment of the risks associated with the research and verification of containment levels assigned by the PI, and
- assessment of facilities, equipment, procedures, practices, training, and all other elements associated with the research.
The intent of the review and approval process is to ensure that all biological research at Michigan Tech is conducted in a manner that protects and maintains individual and community health as well as the health of the environment.
If you have questions about the review process or whether or not your research requires review, contact David Dixon at 906-487-2131 or dcdixon@mtu.edu.
To meet NIH requirements, Michigan Tech’s IBC maintains a minimum of five members. Two of these members are unaffiliated with the University and represent the community and its interests. Additional members of the committee bring expertise in plant, animal, and recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids research. Collectively, members of the committee have the expertise needed to identify and mitigate potential risks associated with research involving recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids, and infectious or potentially infectious biological organisms and materials.
IBC responsibilities include:
- Ensuring that individual researchers, the community and the environment are protected from risks associated with potentially hazardous biological materials used in research laboratories.
- Review and approval of all research using biological organisms and/or biological materials that require containment at BSL-2.
- Review and approval of all research conducted at the University that involves recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids subject to the NIH guidelines.
- Periodic review of recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids and biological research conducted at the University.
- Adopting emergency plans for accidental spills, personnel contamination, loss of containment, and research-related illnesses.