The Biosafety Program assists the Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center’s Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBC) and the teaching and research community at these institutions to ensure that work with biological hazards is done in a manner that is safe and in compliance with the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules as well as local regulations.

Typical services include

• Pre-review of Biological Materials Registration Form: The Biosafety Officers assist Principal Investigators in conducting risk assessments and preparing the forms to register their work with biological materials that falls under the scope of the IBC. For more information on the scope of the IBC and the registration process, please visit the IBC website.
• Biosafety Audits: The Biosafety Program performs periodic biosafety inspections of all spaces that are approved by the IBC for work with biological materials. These inspections are specifically focused on Biosafety, as outline by the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules and the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL, 5th ).
  • Note that the Environmental Health and Safety Offices at Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center will perform separate lab safety inspections. These inspections cover other safety topics, such as chemical, radiation, fire, and OSHA-related topics (including Bloodborne Pathogens Standard).
• Training on Biosafety: Please visit the Training page for more information on the types of training provided by the Biosafety Program.
• Incident Response: The Biosafety Program responds to reports of accidents or incidents involving biological materials. If reporting to an external agency is necessary, the Biosafety Program will assist in that process. For more information on how to handle accidents or incidents involving biological materials, please visit the Accidents and Incidents page.