Ithaca College

Please see below for information regarding the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) for the fall 2019 semester.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

• Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC) Protocols for review at the Friday, September 6, 2019 meeting must be received by Thursday, August 29, 2019 by 5pm. 

• The IACUC protocol review process is managed through the Mentor IACUC system.  

• To obtain protocol forms and instructions, please go to the website.

• All faculty planning to conduct research or classroom activity involving live vertebrate animals for research and/or teaching must obtain prior approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee before undertaking that activity. This committee provides federally-mandated oversight of all activities that have a direct impact on the well-being of animals.

• Ithaca College’s animal use program is managed in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations. A link to federal guidelines can be found on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee website.

• If you have questions about animal care and use policies, specific reviews, procedures, and all other technical matters, please contact iacuc@ithaca.edu.

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

• Protocols for review at the Tuesday, September 3, 2019 meeting must be received by Tuesday, August 27, 2019 by 5pm.

• A reminder for all biology faculty who use any nucleus acids in their research or classes. Federal guidelines now require that anyone that uses any nucleus acids must register with the Biosafety Committee even if the research is at the BSL-1 level. Initial registration requires the following forms: Registration for the Use of Biological Materials, Registration of Experiments/Activities Involving Nucleic Acids, List of Laboratory Personnel, Researcher Experience Form.

• All faculty planning to conduct research or classroom activity involving any kind of nucleic acids, including genomes, plasmids, or short nucleic acid sequences, or any potentially bio-hazardous material, including pathogens, biological toxins, or human cells, tissues, organs or fluids must obtain prior approval from the Institutional Biosafety Committee before undertaking that activity. This committee provides federally-mandated oversight of activities that present risk of infection or illness in humans.

• Please note that research involving viruses or exposure to pathogenic viruses is not allowed at Ithaca College.

• Faculty who have submitted forms and been approved last year need only to fill out an update form and a new laboratory personnel form.

• Federal guidelines require that applicants possess prior experience with a particular agent or procedure, and those supervising the activity should be familiar with proper safety precautions, procedures involving storage, and disposal. A link to federal guidelines can be found on the Institutional Biosafety website.

• Forms and additional information can also be found on the Biosafety website. Please direct submissions and inquiries to biosafety@ithaca.edu.