Institutional Biosafety Committee

TOPAZ Information

Policies and Important Information

• Biosafety Mainpage
• IBC Manual

Lifecycle

Find Funding

Activities Requiring a Protocol

Training

Develop, Route, and Submit Protocol

Manage Project

Renew/ Close Out Protocol

Required Trainings for Personnel on Protocols

For Biosafety trainings taking ether the On-Campus or the applicable CITI trainings will fulfill the requirement.

Committee Meeting Times:

Located in the Norm Asbjornson Hall room 359 unless stated otherwise below.

Activities Requiring Protocols

• Recombinant DNA (rDNA). 
• Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) including, but not limited to: 

• Animals, plants, invertebrates, and/or other organisms created by MSU employees or in/on MSU property. 
  • Transgenic field trials, any genetically modified organisms to be introduced into the environment, including planting of deregulated items in the field. 
  • Field testing of plants engineered to produce pharmaceutical and industrial compounds.
  • Pathogens/infectious agents (human, animal, plant, and other). 

• Select/Biological Agents and Toxins (CDC and USDA). Please note that possession, use, or transfer of Select Agents and Toxins entails additional requirements –contact the ORC for additional information. 
• Human and non-human primate cells (including cell lines), tissue, blood and potentially infectious body fluids. 
• Work with animals or vectors known or suspected to be reservoirs of RG2 or RG3 infectious agents when such work increases potential exposure risks to personnel or other animals. 

• Oncogenic viruses used in conjunction with animals. 
• Any work that requires a USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) permit; in order to protect American agriculture and our natural resources, APHIS oversees and regulates the “import, transit and release of regulated animals, animal products, veterinary biologics, plants, plant products, pests, organisms, soil, and genetically engineered organisms.”

List of Committee Duties

• Review and approval of the research or teaching activity performed by individual researchers, on a regular and continuing basis. 
• Independent assessment of the containment levels required for the work, as stipulated by the NIH Guidelines and/or BMBL, for all experiments, including those involving whole plants and/or animals, cell cultures, tissues, human-derived materials, biological toxins, infectious agents, and regulated pathogens and pests. 
• Assessment of facilities, procedures, practices, and training and expertise of personnel involved with biohazardous research. 
• Notification of Principal Investigators (PIs) of the results of the IBC's review and approval. 
• Developing emergency plans covering accidental spills and personnel contamination resulting from research using recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules. 
• Reporting of significant problems with, or violations of the NIH Guidelines and any significant research related accidents or illnesses to ORC and the appropriate institutional official, and when necessary to the NIH. 
• Suspension or termination of research that is not being conducted in accordance with IBC requirements. 

Committee Mission Statement

The mission of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) at MSU is to ensure that activities with biohazardous material are conducted safely and responsibly. To fulfill this commitment, the IBC reviews and monitors all research and teaching activities by faculty, staff, and students that utilize infectious agents, human body fluids or tissues, and recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules.  

The IBC is comprised of faculty representatives from various academic disciplines at MSU, researchers, non-scientific members, and community representatives who are not affiliated with the university. The committee typically meets monthly to review research protocols and other submitted materials.