Alicia Maren Wiczulis

The Institutional Biosafety Committee reviewed a new registration for the expanded access use of recombinant Bacillus Calmette-Guérin in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer and recommended handling the agent under BSL-2 conditions. The committee also received updates on the Lab Safety Program and the BSL-3 Program, including reports on completed training, drills, and several safety incidents that occurred and were subsequently addressed. Furthermore, the committee reviewed informational items regarding various registrations, annual updates, and amendments approved by the Chair and the Biological Safety Officer.

The meeting included discussions on updated transparency measures from the NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP), which requires posting IBC meeting minutes publicly. There was an update on the BSL-3 Annual Shutdown, detailing the decontamination and testing status of MS20 and MS24 labs, as well as the Effluent Decontamination System (EDS). The WCG Clinical Services team was introduced, highlighting their centralized process for multicenter trials and IBC services.

The meeting included the introduction of a new committee member, a review of new IBC registrations and amendments, and a discussion regarding Qualtrics Mandatory Annual BSL-2 Biosafety Training. The committee also discussed revising the IBC SOP to allow electronic voting on specific items and reviewed an email from NIH regarding a new Biosafety Modernization Initiative. Additionally, the approval of an Alternative Responsible Officer (ARO) for the Select Agent Induction Program was noted, and an update on the BSL-3 lab safety review cycle was provided.