Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

Research & Economic Development

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is responsible for reviewing all University research and teaching activities involving the use of biohazards, recombinant DNA molecules, select agents, or bloodborne pathogens whether the activities are carried out on campus or off campus (usually under other Institutional Biosafety Committees).

The IBC will review and authorize for 3 years research involving: any biological agents, infected animals or tissues (including field work), recombinant DNA, Select Agents & Toxins, and work with human blood, bodily fluids, tissues or cells in culture. Most biological research requires IBC authorization prior to initiation.

The IBC also serves as the Institutional Review Entity (IRE) for Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC). DURC is defined as life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technologies that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the environment, materiel, or national security. The UW Institutional Contact for DURC is the Biological Safety Specialist.

Members of the Institutional Biosafety Committee:

David Perry (Chair) - Ph.D., Retired

Grant Bowman - Department of Molecular Biology

Hannah Owens - Research & Economic Development Office

Bill Heaster - Community Member, Wyoming Department of Health

Amy Navratil – Zoology and Physiology

Holly Steinkraus - Department of Molecular Biology

Lorraine Saulina-Klein - Community Member

All inquiries can be made to biosafety@uwyo.edu or by contacting the Biological Safety Specialist at 307-766-2723.

Scheduled UW IBC Meetings

The IBC meets monthly. The next scheduled meetings are:

IBC Meetings this fall semester are at 9 AM on the third Wednesday of each month, by Zoom. Contact the biological safety specialist for further information about attending the meetings.
Tentative Monthly Schedule