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Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

The UC Merced IBC has been established to comply with the membership, procedure, and function requirements of Section IV-B-2 of the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules.  

Responsibilities

Use of biological materials is subject to oversight by the IBC to ensure regulations, guidelines, and safe practices are followed to eliminate or reduce risk of exposure to acceptable levels and comply with NIH Guidelines.  This essential oversight occurs through review and approval of Biological Use Authorizations (BUAs) submitted by Principal Investigators prior to initiation of research.  Other IBC responsibilities are to create and enforce policies and procedures regarding the use of biohazardous materials and monitor construction and use of biohazard containment facilities.

UC Merced IBC Handbook (currently under revision)

BUA Submission Deadline and IBC Meeting Dates

BUA Submission Deadline IBC Meeting Date
January 6, 2025 February 6, 2025 (postponed from Jan 27)
February 3, 2025 February 24, 2025
March 3, 2025 March 31, 2025
April 7, 2025 April 29, 2025
May 5, 2025 May 29, 2025
June 9, 2025 June 30, 2025 *
July 7, 2025 July 28, 2025 *

* Dates marked with a "*" are subject to change due to holidays. All IBC meetings are hybrid - held in person in the EH&S Trailer (unless notified otherwise) and via Zoom. The IBC meets from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM for each meeting.

If there is a month where there is no IBC meeting, all BUAs that were submitted will be reviewed at the next IBC meeting. 

When possible and consistent with protection of privacy and proprietary interests, the Institutional Biosafety Committee meetings are open to the public. If you are interested in attending, please contact biosafety@ucmerced.edu for more information.

Committee Composition

Voting members:

Committee Chair(s):

Chair: Ruben Ceballos - Associate Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Merced

UC Merced Members:

Matthew Gallman - Biosafety Officer and High Containment Lab Director, University of California, Merced
Thomas Lee - Interim Director of Environmental Health & Safety, University of California, Merced
Ayo Adebiyi - Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner
Syeda Tajin Ahmed - Postdoctoral Scholar, Mechanobiology, University of California, Merced 
David Gravano - Technical Director of Cytometry, Stem Cell Instrumentation Foundry (SCIF) Core Facility, University of California, Merced
Andy LiWang - Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Chemistry, University of California, Merced
Emily Werner - Director of Animal Care Operations, Animal Research Services, University of California, Merced
Danielle Benziger - Executive Director, Research Compliance & Integrity and Department of Animal Research Services, University of California, Merced 
Rebeca Arevalo Seco - Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Chemistry, University of California, Merced
 
 

Community Members:

Mike Cuchna - Merced College Vice President of Technology and Institutional Research, Retired
Cynthia "Cindy" Kelly - Merced SPCA President, Director of Sales and Marketing for Via Trailways
 

Ex officio, non-voting members:

Kaylee Chang - Associate Biosafety Officer & IBC Administrator, University of California, Merced
Chou Her - Executive Director & Chief of Police, University of California, Merced
Laura Rodriguez-Mascorro - Emergency Manager, University of California, Merced
Leslie Texieira Porto - Assistant Vice Chancelor, Interim Chief of Staff and Export Control Officer, University of California, Merced
Chou Xiong - Office of Research & Economic Development, University of California, Merced
 
 
Agendas and Meeting Minutes

The monthly IBC meeting agenda is distributed to the committee approximately seven days before the meeting date. The draft minutes from the previous month are distributed on the same date. The IBC minutes with proprietary or sensitive information redacted are available on request to members of the public. Please reach out to biosafety@ucmerced.edu with any questions.