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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
September 5, 2025 September 24, 2025
October 6, 2025 October 29, 2025
November 10, 2025 December 3, 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 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM for all the listed meeting above unless stated otherwise. 

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 - EH&S Director, Biosafety Officer and High Containment Lab Director, University of California, Merced
Ayo Adebiyi - Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner
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 - Assistant Director, Research Compliance & Integrity, University of California, Merced 
Rebeca Arevalo Sero - Associate 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.

As of June 1, 2025, the NIH requires all NIH-funded institutions to post approved meetings minutes for public viewing. All minutes must be posted publicly for a minimum of 5 years. All approved meeting minutes are accessible to view only via this Box folder and will be uploaded within 14 business days after receiving IBC approval at a full IBC meeting.

Please reach out to biosafety@ucmerced.edu with any questions.