Requirements to initiate life sciences research depends on the details of the project. Additional permitting or external approvals may be required for certain materials subject to state or federal regulations. IBC Registrations must be submitted using the biological summary in the HuskySMS database, which can be accessed via uconn.scishield.com. The submission must be reviewed by the IBC Coordinator and the BSO, in order to determine  when research can begin. Many experiments can commence once the preliminary review is complete and the lab has received an initial biosafety audit. However, many activities require full committee review and approval prior to initiation of research. For additional information on initiation of research, please contact the IBC Coordinator at ibc@uconn.edu.

UConn employees serving in the following capacity are eligible for PI status:

Principal Investigators are University employees (permanent, temporary, post-doc) who direct the activities of a research laboratory and/or project within a research group.

Principal Instructors can be University employees who oversee the activities of teaching laboratories and/or individual undergraduate student projects.

A Laboratory Supervisor is a University employee who works for a PI as a technician or assistant responsible for daily laboratory functions.

The individual responsible for overseeing a lab that is a part of the Technology Incubation Program (TIP), can act as a PI for the IBC registration process.

IBC registrations are approved for three years, and each registration is assigned an expiration date. Labs must submit a registration renewal prior to the expiration date. The IBC office will notify PIs via e-mail renewal reminders in advance, to ensure researchers have plenty of time to submit prior to expiration.

In the event a project must be reviewed by more than one compliance committee such as the IACUC, IRB, or SCRO, the IBC will coordinate with applicable program contacts to ensure congruency. It must be noted that IBC approval does not supersede or waive the requirement for independent review by other research compliance committees.

Yes, PIs may modify existing registrations at anytime by updating the biological summary within HuskySMS. Simply log into HuskySMS, navigate to the biological summary and make the necessary changes. Be sure to certify and submit the updated bio-summary for committee review.  Requests for amendments must be submitted to the IBC for review prior to the initiation of new experimental activities.  Amendments may include but are not limited to changes in experimental activities (new microorganisms, host-vector systems, transgenic animals, etc.), funding, personnel, and locations.

Please note that new research activities involving RG2 organisms as a host-vector systems, cloning RG2 DNA into non-pathogenic bacteria, infectious DNA or RNA viruses and recombinant experiments with animals or plants must not begin until the committee has reviewed and approved this amendment. An exception may be made when the changes are necessary to eliminate apparent immediate hazards to human health or the environment.

The procedures for approving amendments are the same as those described in the IBC Approval Process page. Supplementary questions may be required for the addition of biological materials. If necessary, PIs will be notified.

Since the implementation of HuskySMS, the previous Annual Review Form has transitioned into the HuskySMS database as a Self-Inspection Log. At least annually, PIs should review their current IBC Registration / biological summary in HuskySMS to determine if any modifications are required.

To complete the IBC Annual Review, navigate to the “Self-Inspections” in your lab’s HuskySMS dashboard. Select “Add a new Self Inspection”, and under the drop-down menu of “Inspection Type”, select “IBC Annual Review” and click “Inspect”. For additional information on this requirement, contact the IBC office via email ibc@uconn.edu.

This helps the lab to remain in compliance and aids the IBC in determining if major changes have been made to the registration that have not been approved. In the event a PI does not receive an email, they can complete the survey during their Biosafety Audit.