Biosafety Bulletin Vol 3 Issue 3 – October 2016

A quarterly newsletter from the BU Office of Institutional Biosafety Committee

See the PDF of the October 2016 Biosafety Bulletin

IBC Public Meeting

On September 20, 2016, pursuant to Section 2.03 of the Boston Public Health Commission’s (BPHC) Biological Laboratory Regulation, the IBC held its annual Public Meeting. A presentation highlighting some of the major accomplishments of the IBC during the past academic year (AY), included: performing an annual review of the BU Biosafety Manual; completing of the NIH’s Office of Science Policy (OSP) IBC Self-Assessment Tool; successful routine site visits from both the NIH’s OSP and the Department of Homeland Security; and implementation of new and updated IBC policies and guidelines. The presentation also included metrics for AY2016 protocols submitted to the IBC office for review.

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) also presented the Annual Biosafety Report for the AY2016. Analysis of laboratory inspection reports showed continued low identifiable deficiencies. Both reports (IBC and EHS) are available on the IBC web site.

IBC Member Training Sessions

The IBC hosted two presentations this past quarter. Dr. Greg Viglianti presented Update on Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) to educate committee members on the federal regulations for DURC. Dr. Stearns-Kurosawa led a discussion on the biosafety issues for laboratory work involving CRISPR/Cas9 technology and presented the proposed Reviewer Guidelines for Protocols Involving CRISPR/Cas9 Technology.

Changes in the IBC Practices

Because of the heightened scrutiny on biosecurity issues, all new and three-year renewal IBC applications now include a specific set of questions pertaining to DURC. All PIs must provide answers to these questions and clarify in their annual renewals whether the status of their research has changed from non-DURC to DURC.

3rd Annual NIH OSP National Biosafety Month

NIH OSP has designated October National Biosafety Month. 2016’s theme is “Evaluation, Collaboration, and Commitment” and encourages Institutions to focus on biosafety, raising awareness and seeking ways to strengthen institutional biosafety programs.

Helpful Tips

Include all members in the laboratory that will be working with any biohazard material or recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules on the personnel list within the IBC protocol. Members must be listed in the approved protocol before they engage in the protocol related activities.
All individuals listed on IBC protocols involving recombinant and synthetic nucleic acids must now complete the rDNA/IBC policy training in RIMS and pass the quiz before engaging in any protocol related activities. Protocols will not be approved until this training is completed.
All three-year renewal, Annual Renewal and Amendment applications now must answer the questions at the bottom of section VI in the RIMS. Applications without a response or an incorrect response will be returned to the PI and may delay approval.
When using the CRISPR/Cas9 Technology in your work, be sure to provide sufficient information as to the a) purpose of using this technology, b) how are you delivering the system to your target cells and c) whether you are using it in animal model. Also make sure to clarify whether the guide RNA and the nuclease are in same expression vector or transfected/delivered separately.
Use of viral vectors to alter gene expressions requires completion of the recombinant DNA section of the IBC application even if you are purchasing ready-made vectors for your work.
Incidents related to work performed under approved IBC protocols involving personnel who are not listed on the approved is a serious violation of compliance requirement.
With the Holidays fast approaching, helpful information on how to safely prepare labs for an extended leave is available online here. Please contact your Department Safety Advisor with any questions: CRC 617-353-4094 or BUMC 617-638-8830.

The Biosafety Bulletin is a quarterly newsletter that is distributed to PIs and is posted on the IBC website. The Biosafety Bulletin highlights changes to IBC Policies, provides updates to the online application and protocol management system (RIMS), and offers helpful hints for completing IBC applications, annual renewals and amendments. Please feel free to email ibc@bu.edu with any topic suggestions.