Institutional Biosafety Committee

Mission/Goals

The Institutional Biosafety Committee reviews registrations for Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules, Pathogens, potential Infectious Agents, Biological Toxins, and Human Clinical Trials that involve the use of these materials as mandated by the National Institutes of Health and/or Johns Hopkins Institutions Policies. The full IBC meets monthly for discussion and voting. A subgroup of the IBC meets one week prior to the full meeting to triage protocols for missing information necessary for full IBC review.

Registrations that require IBC review are assembled into packets at the end of each month and delivered to the IBC members the following week. The IBC triage meeting is normally scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month. The full IBC meeting is normally scheduled for the third Monday of every month.

Background

Investigators at JHU who use or possess Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Materials, Potential Infectious Agents/Pathogens, Biological Toxins, and/or Human-derived tissues and/or body fluids are responsible for registering these research materials with the Biosafety Office and describing the research programs and procedures in which they will be used. This rule applies to all independent investigators. Collaborators may not "piggy-back" on each other's registrations. Postdoctoral or Clinical fellows, graduate or undergraduate students, and research associates are covered by the registrations of their Principal Investigator.

The Principal Investigator is ultimately responsible for the registration, training, and safe handling of research materials handled by their personnel.

Registration

Registration Descriptions

Descriptions for the various registrations required by the IBC and/or Biosafety Office are listed below. Download forms for these registrations.

Committee Members and Contact Info