Biological Safety
Institutions that receive funds from federal agencies must comply with federal regulations. Compliance topics include conformance with various environmental safety requirements. The government has periodically issued guidelines governing the following issues.
- Research Involving Recombinant DNA
- Use of Chemical and Biological Waste Materials
The National Institutes of Health has issued guidelines to minimize potential risks of the use of Recombinant DNA in research programs. The University has established a review committee to oversee the use and control of Recombinant DNA at the University of Denver. The Institutional Biosafety Committee reviews all proposals that anticipate use of DNA material and approves/disapproves the research methodology of the individual proposal. once a program is funded, the Committee monitors project use of the material. The Committee is also responsible for periodic reports to the National Institutes of Health. If you have any questions regarding research involving recombinant DNA, contact du-ibc@du.edu.
University of Denver faculty, staff, and students are responsible for their use of hazardous materials on campus and at all off-site research facilities. The University has appointed a Environmental Health and Safety Officer who monitors all activities involving potentially hazardous materials. The University has established a policy, 2.50.040, to govern use of hazardous materials and to establish the parameters of the Safety Officer's responsibilities. The Risk Management Office has also developed University guidelines which are detailed on pages 14 through 18 and page 36 of the Risk Management Resource Manual.
The responsibility of the Biosafety Committee is to ensure that recombinant DNA activities comply with the NIH (National Institute of Health) Guidelines. General recognition of institutional authority and responsibility properly establishes accountability for safe conduct of the research.
The following is a summary of the review procedures for those planning to initiate any type of recombinant DNA research regardless of funding source.
Proposal Review
1. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) will forward a copy of pertinent data from each proposal claiming use of DNA molecules to each member of the IBC for review.
2. The IBC Chairman will solicit comments from each member on each proposal. Chairman will write final review comments.
3. IBC Chairman will notify ORSP of approval/denial of each proposal. ORSP will submit a letter of the Committee's findings to the proposed sponsor.
4. No individual committee member will be involved in review of their own proposal.
IBC Responsibilities
- Review of all proposals which anticipate use of recombinant DNA,
- Setting containment levels for certain experiments,
- Periodic review of all DNA research being conducted on campus to ensure compliance with government guidelines,
- Report within 30 days to the Vice Provost for Research and to the NIH any significant problems with of violations of the Guidelines and any significant research-related accidents or illness,
- Prohibit initiation of experiments not explicitly covered by the Guidelines until NIH establishes the containment requirement,
- Preparation of all reports required by government guidelines,
- Consultation to principal investigators
If you would like copies of the IBC minutes, please contact du-ibc@du.edu or call 303-871-4050.
