The NIH Office of Science Policy has announced that October 2015 is National Biosafety Stewardship Month – see the attached letter from NIH Associate Director for Science Policy Carrie Wolinetz. During the month of October, institutions are encouraged to focus on sustaining and enhancing a culture of safety and responsibility in life science research laboratories.
UCLA researchers are strongly encouraged to participate in National Biosafety Stewardship Month by:
- Conducting inventories of their infectious agents and of communal spaces within buildings. Principal Investigators should have received a link to an online Biosafety & Biosecurity inventory and survey. The inventory and associated survey must be completed by December 31, 2015. Please contact biosafety@ehs.ucla.edu for more information.
- Reviewing and updating laboratory SOPs.
- Ensuring all materials, even within communal storage spaces, are well-labeled.
- Updating Biological Use Authorizations (IBC protocols) to reflect all infectious agents and all use and storage locations. This can be done through the new online IBC submission system, SafetyNet.
- Reviewing the training of all laboratory members and ensuring correct documentation, including EH&S and laboratory-specific training.
Please refer to the aforementioned memo from the NIH Office of Science Policy, as well as the FAQ sheet (http://www.nih.gov/science/biosafety.htm) issued by the NIH for additional information. Please contact oibc@research.ucla.edu if you have any questions.