The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is a committee comprised of faculty, staff, and community members who oversee biological research and teaching activities at UWM that involve:

• Any recombinant and/or synthetic nucleic acid molecules or materials, including transgenic/recombinant plants and animals
• Any biohazardous materials

Biohazardous materials are defined as any biological material that has the capacity to cause harm to humans, animals, plants, or the environment. They may include, but are not limited to:

• Biohazardous agents, such as bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, prions, protozoa, or helminths
• Biological toxins, i.e. toxins originating from bacteria, plants, animals, and/or fungi
• Vertebrate and invertebrate animals that are transgenic, exotic, invasive, disease vectors, and/or used in association with pathogens or recombinant materials
• Plants that are recombinant, exotic, invasive, and/or grown in association with pathogenic or recombinant microbes or animals
• Human or non-human primate cells (including primary and established cell lines), tissues, organs, or bodily fluids (including blood)
• Other animal cells, tissues, organs, or bodily fluids that may be infectious or recombinant
• Nanotechnology involving biological agents
• Any large-scale propagation of biological materials, defined as greater than 10L in a single vessel

The IBC makes decisions to approve or reject biological research and teaching protocols based on the following policies, procedures, guidelines, regulations, and laws:

• NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant and Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules, April 2019 (NIH Guidelines)
• CDC/NIH Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 6th Edition
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Biosafety Manual
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chemical Hygiene Plan
• OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard 29 CFR 1910.1030
• State of Wisconsin Infectious Waste Regulations

Biosafety Protocol Submission on iManager

Click Here to Log In to iManager

Beginning July 1, 2019, the UWM IBC will no longer accept Word Documents as a submission for a biosafety protocol at UWM and will switch entirely to iManager. iManager is a fully web-based system allowing users with an internet browser to securely: login and submit IBC submissions; send and receive automatic notices; view the status of active, closed, or recent submissions; and maintain the entire IBC file in one central place. It is the same system currently used for protocol submissions to the UWM IRB.

Contact Us

The IBC is administered by the UWM Biosafety Program and Biosafety Officer. If you have questions about the IBC, contact the Biosafety Program at uwm-biosafety@uwm.edu or 414-588-4261. Regular office hours are 8:30am-4:30pm.