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IBC Committee
Institutional Biosafety Committee
An Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is comprised of university faculty and staff appointed by the Provost and at least two outside community members shall fulfill the responsibilities described in this policy and in the Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules, Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, and the university's Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan.
Meetings
Per NIH Guidelines, protocols falling in Section III-D and Section III-E must be approved at convened meetings of the committee. Protocols requiring full committee review are required to be submitted 4 weeks prior to the meeting date. If the protocol is submitted prior to the meeting date but not before the 4-week deadline, they will be added to the next IBC meeting.
Fall 2025
- November 12, 2025
- December 10, 2025 (tentative)
*Requests from non-committee members to join meetings must be sent to Research Compliance Office 1 business day prior to the meeting date.
Functions and Responsibilities of the IBC
A. On behalf of William & Mary, the IBC shall review all proposals to assure compliance with this policy and the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules, the CDC Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, and the College's Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan.
B. On behalf of William & Mary, the IBC shall conduct periodic self-studies of the effectiveness of university policy on biosafety and the implementation procedures, reporting the results to the provost and recommending any needed revisions. This will involve responsibility for:
- Reviewing the registration submission for the appropriateness of biosafety procedures and assignment to the proper biosafety containment levels of experiments;
- Reporting within 30 days to the university Environment, Health, & Safety Office and the Vice Provost identified problems with or violations of the guidelines and research-related accidents or illnesses; the IBC along with the Vice Provost, under the direction of the Provost, has responsibility for communication with external sponsoring and monitoring agencies;
- Participating with the university Environment, Health, & Safety Office in the development of emergency plans to deal with accidental spills and personnel contamination resulting from research;
- Insuring through periodic inspections that laboratory standards are rigorously followed.
Committee Meetings and Membership
A quorum for conducting business shall consist of 2/3 of the current members except that at least one member not affiliated with William & Mary (apart from serving the IBC) must be present.
Meetings will be open to the public consistent with protection of privacy and proprietary interests. Additionally, per Section IV-B-2-a-(7) of the NIH Guidelines, "upon request, the institution shall make available to the public all Institutional Biosafety Committee meeting minutes and any documents submitted to or received from funding agencies which the latter are required to make available to the public." Requests for the meeting minutes can be sent to the Research Compliance Office at WM. Information from the meeting minutes may be redacted for the protection of private or proprietary information.
The IBC members shall be selected so that they collectively have experience and expertise in recombinant DNA technology and biological organisms and the capability to assess the safety of such activities and any potential risk to public health or the environment.
- At least two members shall not be affiliated with William & Mary (apart from membership on the IBC) and shall represent the interest of the community area with respect to the health and protection of the environment.
- When possible, there shall be at least one member from each department/unit conducting recombinant DNA research.
2025-26 Committee List
Meeting Minutes
Effective June 1, 2025, approved meeting minutes from all IBC meetings on, or after June 1, 2025, will be posted publicly per NIH guidance.