Institutional Biosafety Committee

Appointed by the Provost

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) recommends policies and reviews protocols involving recombinant and/or synthetic nucleic acid molecules (rDNA); Risk Group 2 and 3 microorganisms; biological toxins; bloodborne pathogens; human and nonhuman primate materials; transgenic plants and animals; and mammalian tumor cell lines. Research protocols are reviewed for compliance with the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (“NIH Guidelines”); the Federal Select Agent Program; Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL); and the institutional biosafety manual. University researchers with projects involving any materials or processes subject to oversight must receive IBC approval before beginning their work.

Membership consists of five faculty members nominated by the Committee on Committees; one graduate student with a knowledge of rDNA research; two persons not affiliated with the University of Arkansas (apart from their membership on the committee) and not an immediate family member of anyone affiliated with the university, representing the interests of the surrounding community with respect to health and protection of the environment; a representative of the Pat Walker Health Center; and, ex officio and non-voting, the manager of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety or his/her designee, the IACUC Program Manager; and the Director of Research Compliance. The committee members shall collectively have expertise in rDNA, human pathogens, and transgenic plant and animal containment methodologies.

The provost designates a chairperson from the faculty members.

Ines Pinto, Chair	Faculty at Large	2025
Vibha Srivastava	Faculty at Large	2027
Christian Tipsmark	Faculty at Large	2027
Joanna Kud	Faculty at Large	2027
Young Min Kwon	Faculty at Large	2026
Olivia Enietan	Graduate student	2025
Sara McBee	Community representative	2025
Malcolm Hayward	Community representative	2025
Carlos Acosta	Pat Walker Health Center	2026
Robert Story	Environmental Health and Safety Representative**	Ex-Officio
Rebecca Kavanaugh	IACUC Program Manager*	Ex-Officio
Bob Beitle	Director of Research Integrity and Compliance**	Ex-Officio