Forms and Instructions
The NIH Guidelines are a set of regulations governing safe basic and clinical research with recombinant or synthetic nucleic acids and biological agents.
The failure to adhere to them may result in suspension of National Institutes of Health funding to an individual principal investigator or the entire institution. The guidelines apply to all recombinant nucleic acid activities at an institution where any work with recombinant nucleic acids receives NIH funding.
In accordance with NIH’s Office of Science Policy regulations, all biological research must be reviewed and approved by the IBC. Principal investigators are required to submit an application to use recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules; potentially infectious agents; select agents and toxins; and/or human or nonhuman primate blood, fluids, tissues and/or cell lines prior to the initiation of research.
Application forms are provided below and must be submitted to the IBC office to initiate the review process. For any questions, please contact the IBC office at ibc-group@brandeis.edu or at 781-736-8136.
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Please complete the Biological Research Registration form if you plan on using any of the following in your research and/or teaching activities at Brandeis University:
- Recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules
- Potentially infectious agents
- Select agents and toxins
- Human or non-human primate blood, fluids, tissues, and/or cell lines
The Registration is designed to provide both a broad and deep description of the biological research that you conduct in your lab. Through this description, the Brandeis Institutional Biosafety Committee will be able to understand the risks that your research poses to research personnel and to the environment, and will be able to review your work to ensure that proper safeguards are in place to mitigate those risks. Additionally, this Registration will document how your research fits within the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines) (pdf).
Approval for a Biological Research Registration is valid for five years from the date of approval and is specific to the research listed on your Registration.
All modifications (submitted via IBC Modification Request Form) the to currently approved research require IBC review and approval prior to implementation. Administrative modifications are reviewed by the IBC Office and any scientific modifications require the Committee's review at a meeting with a quorum of members.
Please note: If there is a significant alteration in the direction or scope of this research, the submission of a new Biological Research Registration may be necessary. Please contact the IBC Office for evaluation.
In order to ensure that your biological research records remain current and in compliance with NIH Office of Science Policy guidelines, please complete the Annual Update Form electronically and return it to the IBC Office once per year as requested.