Northeastern University’s Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) oversees the use of biological materials on campus. Projects using biological materials must submit documentation to and receive formal approval from the IBC before work can begin. THIS PROCESS TAKES TIME!

Will my project need to be approved by the IBC?

Most projects using biological material will need to be approved by the IBC, particularly projects that:

• Bring any new biological material (organism, strain, plasmid, tissue, cell line) into the Wet Lab Makerspace
• Use biological material already in the WLM in a new process or procedure
• Use or create recombinant organisms or nucleic acids
• Use organisms in Risk Group 2 or above
• Collect or culture unknown organisms (e.g. microbiome sampling or similar)

How do I prepare my documents for the IBC for a project in the Wet Lab Makerspace?

Begin by submitting a Project Inquiry Form. This will help WLM staff determine whether your project needs to be registered in SciShield and approved by the IBC. If it does, we will assist you in following these steps:

1. Schedule a 1:1 meeting with makerspace staff to discuss the details of your project.
2. You create the first draft of your documents, using a provided template.
3. You and makerspace staff collaboratively edit your documents.
4. Makerspace staff approves your documents for SciShield registration.
5. Makerspace staff registers your project in SciShield.

Remember that this process takes TIME. The more complex your project, the longer it will take! Please submit your Project Inquiry Form as early as possible!