Institutional Biosafety Committee

The Catholic University of America (CUA) Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is responsible for reviewing and approving recombinant DNA research and biohazard research projects conducted on the CUA campus.  The IBC ensures that research conducted at CUA is in compliance with the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules and the Select Agent Rule, drafts campus biosafety policies and procedures, and reviews individual research proposals for biosafety concerns.

Principal investigators must register all research projects involving the following with the IBC and receive formal written approval before the research can begin:

• recombinant DNA;
• agents that are infectious to humans, animals and plants;
• other potentially infectious materials;
• select agents and biological toxins; and
• human materials including blood, cells, unfixed human tissues and other body fluids.

The IBC is comprised of representatives from the Biology Department, the office of General Counsel, the office of Environmental Health & Safety, and local community members.  For any questions, please contact:

Dr. Barbara Howard, IBC Chairperson, Biology Department, (202) 319-5270, howardb@cua.edu

Ms. Kellie Hindman, IBC Secretary, Environmental Health & Safety, (202) 319-4461, hindman@cua.edu

Helpful Links:

The National Institutes of Health, Office of Biotechnology Activities http://oba.od.nih.gov/oba/index.html

The NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules http://oba.od.nih.gov/rdna/nih_guidelines_oba.html

Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 5^th Edition http://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/biosfty/bmbl5/bmbl5toc.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Select Agent Registry http://www.selectagents.gov/

World Health Organization, Laboratory Biosafety Manual, 3^rd Edition http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/biosafety/Biosafety7.pdf