Biosafety Bulletin Vol 2 Issue 2 – October 2015

A quarterly newsletter from the BU Office of Institutional Biosafety Committee
See the PDF of the October 2015 Biosafety Bulletin

Laboratory Acquired Infection (LAI) subcommittee

The IBC held its annual LAI subcommittee meeting in July 2015. This subcommittee reviews the pathogenic potential of all microorganisms that are known to be associated with LAI and provides guidelines and agent specific information on those entities. The current list of all pathogens with LAI concerns being used at BU is available on the IBC Policy and Procedures website.

Transgenic Rodent Guidelines

The IBC has created a guidance document on the procurement and use of transgenic rodents at Boston University. Applicable NIH guidelines and requirements for IBC approval are listed online in this guideline.

IBC Member Training Sessions

The IBC organized two training sessions during this past quarter to educate committee members on research areas with increased biosafety concerns. They included 1) Lentiviral Vectors in Biological Research & Safety concerns with lentiviral vector; and 2) 2014-2015 West African Ebola epidemic update: Aftermath.

Annual Public Meeting

On September 22 nd , in accordance with Section 2.03 of the Boston Public Health Commission’s (BPHC) Biological Laboratory Regulation, the IBC held its Annual Public Meeting. This meeting was open to the public and several individuals not affiliated with BU, as well as members of the BPHC, attended this meeting.

IBC Annual Report

The IBC presented its annual performance report to the members and to the public at large during the Annual Public Meeting. This report has been made available to the public in our web site.

News from IBC office

The IBC meeting dates and submission deadlines for 2016 have been posted on IBC website.

Tips

  • When submitting an IBC protocol, carefully check the submission type. RIMS will continuously send reminders if the submission type is inaccurate.
  • RIMS will not accept the early submission (>75 days) of an annual renewal or a 3-year resubmission.
  • An amendment submission does not eliminate the need for an annual or a 3-year submission.
  • 3-year resubmissions must update the project description and laboratory procedure sections. A previously approved description does not guarantee clearance from current reviewers.
  • When using viral vectors, always provide the source detail (e.g., name of the company or publication, not the name of a friend or colleague) along with replication competency information.
  • The Research Occupational Health Program (ROHP) provides all individuals listed on projects involving LAI agents with a special “High Hazard Agent” identification card. Keep this card with you always and show it to medical care professionals to assist in evaluating a potential LAI.
  • The IBC application forms are updated frequently to meet changes in regulatory requirements and questions may be revised. When resubmitting a protocol, check your response in all sections to make sure you addressed all questions.
  • The RIMS platform has been upgraded recently. Do not use a previously bookmarked link to access RIMS. Use https://www.bu.edu/research/information-for/tools-resources/info-systems-and-web-apps/research-information-management-system-rims/ link instead.

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