The Institutional Biosafety Committee reviews all research involving recombinant DNA and select organisms conducted at Occidental College or by members of the Occidental College community, including faculty, students and staff.
It serves as Occidental's Institutional Review Board for purposes of compliance with the Federal Regulations: Federal Registry, 5 July 1994 (59 FR 34496) and amendments.
For more information about the committee, about the regulation and ethics of research involving recombinant DNA, or about submitting a proposal for the committee to review, please review the following information or contact the IRB Coordinator or the Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee, Professor Roberta Pollock at pollock@oxy.edu.
To Submit a Proposal for Review
If you are a member of the Occidental community planning any sort of research concerning recombinant DNA, you should contact the Chair of the IBC to determine whether your research needs to be reviewed by the committee. You should also review the link to NIH Guidelines (see below), which identifies the research that is exempt from this policy. You should complete the Proposal Approval Form (from the link below) and submit it to the URC/IBC to be forwarded to the committee. The proposal will be reviewed by the IRB Coordinator for completeness, and then, depending on the nature of the research requiring review, it will either be reviewed by the full committee or receive an expedited review. Please note, the Committee does not generally meet during the summer months and researchers should make appropriate plans.
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Calendar for Submission and Review
The Committee meets twice a semester to review proposals.
Proposals must be received in digital form at least one week prior to a committee meeting to receive review.
Investigators will receive a prompt response from the IRB Coordinator once their proposal has been reviewed. If it is not approved, the IRB Coordinator will contact you indicating what needs to be done. Please make sure you answer all questions on the Approval Request to avoid delay.