The Administrative Panel on Biosafety (APB) has officially transitioned to the name Institutional Biosafety Committee, or IBC, to better align with federal guidelines and regulations and promote a clearer understanding of our role at Stanford. This change is official as of October 1, 2025; we will be working to update relevant webpages and written documents over the subsequent 12 months.
If your lab works with biohazardous (infectious) agents or non-exempt rDNA/synthetic nucleic acid as defined by the NIH Guidelines, you must obtain approval from the Stanford University Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) before beginning this work. You must maintain approval for the full duration of the work. If you need to determine whether your work requires IBC approval, contact biosafety@lists.stanford.edu for direct assistance.
As the PI, you are directly responsible for ensuring that their IBC protocol accurately reflects your work and is kept up to date. You are also responsible for ensuring your lab complies with all health and safety requirements that apply to your work.
However, the Biosafety team is here to help! We are happy to answer questions at any point in the process, and will work with you to review the protocol and resolve any issues. We will also visit your lab periodically to ensure your facilities and practices/procedures are tailored to keeping your lab members safe. See the sidebar for more information, resources, and contact information.
We look forward to working with you to support your research!
