Category Archive

Colleagues: Please see the below message from the Biosafety team in EH&S. Dear UCLA Research Community, On April 1st and 2nd 2026, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will inspect UCLA Campus laboratories, clinics, and any other locations generating medical waste. EH&S will escort CDPH Inspectors through campus, as they inspect facilities that handle, store, or generate medical waste … Read More

Happy New Year! The IBC would like to inform the research community that the Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acids (r/sNA) Usage section in the IBC SafetyNet system is being updated today to align with current NIH Guidelines. As a result, all new submissions and amendments to BUAs will prompt users to complete the updated r/sNA section which now includes NIH Guidelines … Read More

In September of this year, the NIH announced an effort to modernize and strengthen biosafety policies, practices, and oversight, citing evolving risks posed by rapid advances in science and technology. In their efforts to modernize a biosafety framework for today’s scientific landscape, NIH launched a series of listening sessions to seek input from the stakeholder community, including researchers, biosafety professionals, … Read More

The Office of Research Policy & Compliance (RPC) will be closed from December 24, 2025 through January 2, 2026 for the Winter Holiday Curtailment, reopening on Monday, January 5, 2026. While our offices are closed, the Chancellor’s Animal Research Committee (ARC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), and Academic Radiation Safety Committee (ARSC) and Medical Radiation Safety Committee (MRSC) / Radioactive Drug … Read More

Colleagues: Please see the below message from the Biosafety team in EH&S. Subject :  Updated Resource: Biosafety Manual Template Guide The biosafety team has released an updated Biosafety Manual Template Guide as a resource to support researchers in developing and maintaining laboratory-specific biosafety documentation. With this update, your lab Biosafety Manual may be created and stored electronically via an online … Read More

We are pleased to announce that SafetyNet, the online system used by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and Radiation Safety Committees (RSC), will undergo a major update this coming weekend. As a result, SafetyNet will be unavailable from 5:00 PM on Friday, August 1, until 5:00 PM on Sunday, August 3. The update is intended to refresh the appearance of … Read More

On May 5, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research and an accompanying Factsheet regarding dangerous gain-of-function (GOF) research[1]. The EO struck down the recently implemented 2024 US Government Policy for Oversight of Dual Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Pandemic Potential (USG Policy). Two days later, NIH released Notice … Read More

On March 28, 2025, the NIH issued a Guide Notice (NOT-OD-25-082) outlining new expectations for institutions conducting research subject to the NIH Guidelines For Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines). Effective June 1, 2025, the following transparency requirements will be implemented: We encourage all investigators to review the full NIH notice for additional details and to … Read More

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) has issued updated guidance following the NIH Office of Science Policy’s (OSP) downgrade of SARS-CoV-2 from Risk Group 3 (RG3) to Risk Group 2 (RG2). This guidance outlines revised biosafety containment and procedural requirements for SARS-CoV-2 research at UCLA. Key Updates: Required Actions for Researchers: For questions, contact the IBC at IBC@research.ucla.edu or the Biosafety … Read More