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Welcome!
The Office of Biosafety was recently established in the Division of Research and Graduate Studies. This office encompasses the Institutional Biological Safety Officer and Responsible Official, Bruce M. Whitney, and Gayle Willis, administrative assistant for Dr. Whitney.
The Office of Biosafety engages with research programs and ensures that policies and guidelines established by the Institutional Biosafety Committee are carried out in compliance with federal, state, and university regulations. The office is led by the Biological Safety Officer and Responsible Official.
The office also:
- provides guidance and outreach through ongoing training;
- consults and monitors Risk Group 3 (RG3) and select biological agent activities;
- conducts orientation for students, faculty, and staff regarding the use of biohazardous materials;
- develops and implements ongoing monitoring and inspections of Biosafety Level 2 and 3 laboratories;
- consults with laboratory directors and/or principal investigators on all matters related to laboratory biosafety and compliance;
- conducts risk analyses of research operations with biohazardous agents and/or activities, and identifies appropriate mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate identified risk factors;
- assesses and analyzes potential safety and health risks of research projects that involve biological materials, and determines effective engineering or administrative controls to mitigate against these risks;
- develops, implements and oversees Texas A&M University policies related to research involving hazardous materials, Select Agents or recombinant DNA (the Institutional Biosafety Committee [IBC]).
For more information, contact the office (see 'Contact Information' link above).