About the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

The purpose of the Georgia Regents University (GRU), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is to ensure institutional compliance with laws and regulations governing research with biohazardous materials to include pathogenic microorganisms, infectious materials, recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids (r/s NA), and select agents/toxins and to establish policies, procedures, and practices to ensure that research at GRU does not present unacceptable risks to the health or safety of faculty, staff, students, visitors, or the general public. 

The IBC implements CDC guidelines published in Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 5th ed, 2009; NIH guidelines published in NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA, March 2013; and federal regulations governing CDC/USDA Select Agents published in  DHHS 42 Code of Federal Regulations Part 73, Possession, Use, and Transfer of Select Agents and Toxins; Biennial Review, Proposed Rule, October 3, 2011.

All research and instruction at GRU involving the following materials below, requires registration with the Biological Safety Office and approval from the IBC. The IBC reviews Biosafety Protocol (BSP) applications once per month. BSPs involving r/s NA must be submitted to Biosafety@gru.edu by the 1^st of the month, to be considered for IBC review during that month’s meeting. For an overview of the submission, review and approval process, see Figure 2.5.1 Paperwork flow for BSP review by the IBC and Biosafety Office.To assist you in completing the process of gaining approval, download the Application Checklist.

What requires registration and approval?

• Any recombinant DNA (this includes NIH Guidelines “exempt” and “non-exempt” materials) )(e.g., human gene therapy/transfer, viral vectors, plasmids, transgenic animals)
• CDC/USDA regulated Select Agents/Toxins (see, Select Agent and Toxin List)
• Fixed and unfixed cadavers, mammalian cells, cell lines, tissues, organs, blood, urine or other fluids (e.g., human and non-human primate materials)
• Whole animals, cells, cell lines, tissues, organs, blood, urine or other fluids (e.g., commercial, field caught, gained from a collaborator)
• Microbial and/or potentially infectious agents (e.g., viruses, yeast, bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions )
• Toxins of biological origin with an LD 50 <100ug/kg of body weight or poisonous, toxic or venomous plants, animals or insects (e.g., pertussis toxin, diphtheria toxin)
• Large scale cultures > 10 liters at any one time of any biological substance
• Shipping of biological materials (e.g., potentially infectious agents, clinical/diagnostic specimens, cultures of microorganisms or cells, tissues, genetically modified organisms, , toxins of biological origin) and  dangerous goods (e.g. Dry ice, liquid nitrogen, fixatives)