The Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) partners with the Emory Community to provide environmental, health, and safety (EHS) practices that enhance and support our world-renowned, cutting edge research. This is accomplished by managing EHS risks to reduce the potential for workplace injury or illness. A primary focus of EHSO is managing the safe use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) used in experimentation. An Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is required at institutions that receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research involving recombinant and/or synthetic nucleic acid molecules (rDNA). Recombinant DNA is DNA that has been modified to include genes from multiple sources. All rDNA research at Emory University, regardless of funding source, must be conducted in accordance with the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules and must be registered with the IBC. The IBC is charged with reviewing and approving exciting and cutting-edge research protocols involving rDNA.
IBC, a faculty-based committee, is charged with scientific evaluation of rDNA protocols and rendering important decisions about safe research conduct and compliance with policies and regulations which is an essential and critical role as we endeavor to maintain safe, productive, and ethical research practices. It should be noted that EHSO and IBC collaborate with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) as we endeavor to provide our research community with a safe and compliant environment to conduct research.
The Environmental Health and Safety Office is soliciting membership for the IBC. The IBC meets monthly to review new protocols and protocol renewals submitted for review. In addition to attending meetings, members are asked to review protocol(s) for presentation to the committee. Participation on this committee fulfills a critical service for the University, serves to evaluate the multifaceted research being conducted at Emory University, enhances collaborations, and contributes to the greater good of biomedical research. Anyone interested in serving on this important committee please contact Dr. Kalpana Rengarajan at krengar@emory.edu.