Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Applications
As an institution receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), WSU is subject to the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules. Therefore, any work that is subject to the NIH Guidelines must be reviewed and approved by the WSU Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC).
In addition to work subject to the NIH Guidelines, the WSU IBC also reviews all work involving:
- Risk Group 2 (RG2) agents (or higher)
- CDC/USDA select agents and select agent toxins
- Work with toxins that have an LD50 less than or equal to 100 ng/kg (e.g., Diphtheria toxin)
- Work with inactivated high risk biological organisms (Risk Group 3 or 4) or toxins
- US Army funded work with cadaveric material
All such research requires review by the IBC prior to receipt of materials. Please contact the WSU Biosafety Officer if you have any questions about research activities that are subject to IBC oversight.
For exempt research, see Recombinant DNA or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules Exempt from NIH Guidelines and the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules.
Protocol Applications
The IBC utilizes an online submission process for all applications (eProtocol). eProtocol training manuals and a link to eProtocol can be found at the Division of Research eProtocol website. Or you can access eProtocol directly.
- Please make sure you use the latest version of one of the supported browsers: Firefox or Safari.
Protocols also require the attachment of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in eProtocol and, in some cases, other types of documentation. To understand what forms need to be attached see IBC Attachments for eProtocol.
IBC approvals are valid for three (3) years from the initial review/approval process and apply only to the lab originally inspected and the investigator originally approved.
Amendments
IBC protocols must be kept up to date to reflect all current work, personnel, and locations. Amendments must be submitted and approved by the IBC prior to initiating the new work. Work previously approved by the IBC is not impacted and can continue during the amendment review process.
If you are unsure if an amendment is required, please contact the WSU Biosafety Officer.
IBC Applications Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
See the Biosafety Frequently Asked Questions page for commonly asked questions about the IBC application and review process. Also review the Step-by-step overview for review and approval.
eProtocol Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
As a Principal Investigator what do I need to know before I submit a protocol using eProtocol?
How do research personnel complete their certifications and COI disclosures?
How does a Chair (signatory official) certify a protocol?
All our required training is complete, but this is not reflected in eProtocol - how do we fix this?
Trainings that have recently been completed in CITI will not be reflected in eProtocol until the two systems have synchronized. This process is completed once per day. For the synchronization process to work it requires that each user has included their WSU Access ID in their CITI profile.
To update a CITI training profile, please complete the following:
- Log into CITI
- Go to the "My profiles" heading
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate "Wayne State University-Detroit, MI Profile" and expand that tab
- Scroll down to WSU Access ID and input your information
- Scroll to the very bottom and click the "update profile" button
This should complete the process and the training records in eProtocol should be up to date after the next scheduled synchronization has been completed.
For more information contact Richard Pearson, WSU Biosafety Officer, rjpearson@wayne.edu or 313-577-1200.