FAQs
In general you must have approval before initiating activities with recombinant DNA.
See "Investigator Responsibilities" on our Policies page.
Submit a Biosafety Form through VERAS.
If you have questions about how to fill out the Biosafety Form, please contact either the IBC Coordinator or the Biosafety Officer (BSO) for assistance.
I use commercially available vectors and believe that my work is exempt. Do I need to submit an MUA?
While many of the commercially available vectors are exempt, you must file a Biosafety Form for determination of covered or exempt status by the IBC. All covered work must be approved by the IBC.
Three years, unless indicated otherwise.
It is the Principal Investigator's responsibility to renew a protocol. This is done by submitting a protocol on VERAS. The Office of Research Assurances (ORA) has developed a system whereby in the future every attempt will be made to send a reminder in advance of the three years expiration to investigators to assist them in managing this compliance piece.
Biological toxins are poisonous substances that can be produced by animals, plants, insects, fungi, and microorganisms. Biological toxins are not considered infectious because they do not replicate, yet they may be extremely toxic in small quantities.
Biological toxins are typically handled with biosafety level 2 practices and facilities. Safe lab practices and controls must be implemented before working with biological toxins. Standard operating procedures (SOP) must be implemented in the lab before use. Toxins must be inactivated prior to disposal.
Some biological toxins are considered Select Toxins under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Select Agent Program. Please contact the Biosafety Office if you plan to perform research with CDC Select Agents and Toxins as there may be additional requirements when working with these materials.
These are agents and toxins that have been determined to have dual use potential by the federal government and require registration and approval from the federal government to work with.
View a 7-minute video developed by NIH-HHS with more information about what is meant by “dual use.”
All work with Select Agents and Toxins must be submitted via a Biosafety Form to ibc@uidaho.edu.
Work that requires Federal oversight must be registered with CDC. It may take 6 months or longer to obtain this approval. Contact the Biosafety Officer for assistance with this process.
Some work with Select Agents and Toxins is excluded from federal oversight.
There are permissible toxin amounts which are also excluded from federal oversight.
VERAS FAQs
- Login to the VERAS system (veras.uidaho.edu/) with your network ID and password.
- Verify My Workspaces is set to “Study Assistant”
- Select “View My Studies” under Featured Study Operations, or scroll down to All Studies,
- If you have submissions for other committees, you may need to select the down arrow to view only IBC protocols.
- Login to veras.uidaho.edu
- Select View My Studies under Featured Study Operations, or scroll down to All Studies, and on the protocol row you want to amend, select
- A pop-up window will appear, under IBC Renewal, Amendment & Closure Forms, select
(Start a new Submission) for IBC - Personnel Change Only - Follow the appropriate instructions below:
- If you are adding a Co-PI, select the
button next to row A.) Additional Investigators. - If you are adding research personnel, select the , highlighted green below, in the next row B.) Research Staff.
- If you are removing internal personnel, select the
, highlighted orange below.
- If you are adding a Co-PI, select the
Please note, if adding personnel to work with export controlled items (EAR and ITAR Category XIV) or select agents, you must submit a "IBC - Personnel Change Only" form and receive IBC approval, before submitting an amendment to include them in section CDC Select Agents & Toxins or Export Controlled Items (EAR and ITAR Category XIV).
The student/personnel will need to login to VERAS, if they do not already have an account, where they will be prompted to create an account. Once the account is created then you will be able to see them in the system.
Please note:
- If the personnel are not affiliated with the University, they should not need to create an account.
- Personnel working on or with export controlled items (EAR and ITAR Category XIV) or select agents MUST be listed on the protocol.
Yes, personnel other than the PI can fill out forms for protocols they are connected to, they must be listed as a Study Personnel on the study to have access to it VERAS. However, the PI will need to complete a final Signoff and Submit before the submission is submitted to the committee.
The submission author must select “Notify PI to Signoff” for the PI to receive an email notice and a VERAS home screen task
.
If the IBC Admin has already started processing the submission, you will need to call or email the IBC and ask them to release the submission so you can make changes. If the IBC has not started processing the submission follow the steps below:
- Login to http://veras.uidaho.edu/
- Select View My Studies under Featured Study Operations, or scroll down to All Studies.
- Select the
icon, in the “Click to open” column, for the Protocol you want to edit - On the right side of the screen find Outstanding Submission(s) and select “Retract Submission” in the “Process Submission” column.
- Login to veras.uidaho.edu.
- Select View My Studies under Featured Study Operations, or scroll down to All Studies, and on the protocol row you want to amend, select
- A pop-up window will appear, under IBC Renewal, Amendment & Closure Forms, select (Start a new Submission) for IBC - Amendment Form
- Complete the form to the best of your ability
- A pop-up window will appear, under IBC Renewal, Amendment & Closure Forms, select
Notes:
- Under the “Revised Application” section of the IBC - Amendment Form, you will select Click here to attach the application, then select Add Revision to create a new version of your currently approved protocol. You will update your new protocol version to include the item you are requesting in your amendment.
- Under “Submission” section of the IBC - Amendment Form, attach or revise any additional documents (permits, SOP’s…)
- Please note, if adding personnel to work with export controlled items (EAR and ITAR Category XIV) or select agents, you must submit a IBC - Personnel Change Only form and receive IBC approval, before submitting the IBC - Amendment Form to include them in the “CDC Select Agents & Toxins or Export Controlled Items (EAR and ITAR Category XIV)” section.