Sept. 9, 2025 Institutional Biosafety Committee Meeting Minutes

Present

Beth Ahner (animal containment expert), Jen Averill (public safety), Andrea Bertke (virology), Clayton Caswell (Chair, bacteriology), Alan Ealy (animal science), Rajshekhar Gaji (parasitology), Aaron Gross (entomology), Timothy Jarome (Vice Chair, neurobiology), Mike Klemba (parasitology), Kristin Knight (high containment), Michael Miles (biosafety officer), Dennis Nolan (health and safety), Sally Paulson (virology), Pamela Ray (public health), Igor Sharakhov (gene drive modified organism expert), Laurie Spotswood (local non-affiliated member), Xiaofeng Wang (plant containment expert), James Weger (virology)

Excused Absences

Paige Bordwine (local non-affiliated member), Amy Brunner (plant containment expert), Erin Gloag (bacteriology), Karen Hall (animal containment expert), Kristin Knight (high containment), Calvin Lau (animal containment expert), Katherine LaVallee (animal containment expert), Andrew Marinik (emergency management), Mike Mulhare (public safety)

Guests

Regina Allen (IBC non-voting contact, IBC Program), Ling Chen (IBC Program), Shabnam Hematian (chemistry department), Anna Kroner (biosafety officer; alternate member), Christine McCoy (health and safety), Sarah Owen (health and safety), Allison Price (health and safety), Charlotte Waggoner (university biosafety officer; non-voting alternate), Barbara Wise (FLSI research operations)

Quorum

Five members are required to conduct business. 16 voting members were present at the start of the meeting.

Conflicts of Interest

Attendees were reminded that they are required to disclose conflicts of interest with applications being reviewed prior to the start of each discussion. Attendees with a conflict will be asked to leave the meeting during the members’ final discussion and vote.

AGENDA

1. With the establishment of a quorum, the Chair called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. This was an open meeting. 
   
   
2. 
   The Minutes of the IBC meeting held on Aug. 12, 2025 were reviewed at this time. No edits were requested [15 of 16 members present voted to approve the Minutes of the Aug. 12, 2025 IBC meeting, to be posted online when legal counsel provides final approval; 1 of 16 members abstained].
   Beth Ahner and Dennis Nolan joined the meeting. There are 18 voting members present.
   
   
3. Two renewal submissions and one new submission were discussed.
   
   
   1. Protocol 22-038, renewal submission. Dr. Gloag; did not attend the meeting. The protocol uses Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, and Acinetobacter baumannii in ex vivo and in vivo models to study wound healing and biofilm-associated infections, and the use of new dressings and topical agents for healing. For ex vivo experiments, human and zebrafish neutrophils, pig tissues, and pig and human cell lines are used. For in vivo studies, bacteria are administered to pigs, wild type and transgenic mice, and zebrafish larvae. The zebrafish are obtained from another lab, and express fluorescent reporters in neutrophils. P. aeruginosa mutants that arise during in vivo studies are sequenced and recreated in the lab using RG1 E. coli for cloning. The mutant P. aeruginosa strains are then used for ex vivo and in vivo studies. The lab will also use P. aeruginosa wspF deletion and mucA22 truncated mutants that are obtained from collaborators. P. aeruginosa mutants are not used for in vivo pig experiments. The lab uses wild type strains of S. mutans and S. gordonii to study resistance mechanisms in dental biofilms using culture and media models that mimic oral cavity environments. An additional project studies S. aureus extracellular membrane vesicles in in vitro analyses and cell culture work with human cell lines. The strains and vesicles are administered to wild type and transgenic mice to determine if immunization protects against colonization or infection, and to assess whether the vesicles are produced in vivo. Transgenic mice are purchased from a vendor. S. aureus is modified to delete virulence factor genes, such as alpha hemolysin, clumping factors, lipoproteins, and leukocidin. Complementation studies are also performed. Additional mutants are generated as potential vaccine candidates, by generating point mutations in alpha hemolysin and leukocidin genes to inactivate the cytolytic activity of toxins. The cloning vectors used are standard cloning vectors. The antibiotics used are not used to treat infections with the organisms and resistance encoded by the plasmids does not provide cross-resistance to other types of antibiotics. The agents used are RG1, RG2, and human and animal cells and tissues. The appropriate containment levels used are BSL-1, BSL-2, BL1, BL2, ABSL-1, and ABSL-2. The applicable NIH Guidelines are III-D-1, III-D-2, III-D-4, III-E, III-F-8-C-II, and III-F-8-C-VII. The facilities were reviewed and they are appropriate for the work performed. The principal investigator has the expertise to perform the work. The lab inspection was performed by EHS and is complete. The rsNA & Toxin form, PSDS forms, and SOPs were reviewed and they are appropriate for the work performed. The lab sketches, biosafety manual, and one SOP have minor edits that are needed, but they are otherwise appropriate. No major concerns were raised, and minor edits will be required for final approval. On a motion and a second, a majority of the IBC members voted to Require Modifications to the renewal of protocol 22-038 with final review by the IBCP and biosafety officer after the edits are completed [18 of 18 members present voted to Require Modifications to the protocol].
      
      
   2. Protocol 25-032, renewal submission. Dr. Howe; did not attend the meeting. The protocol uses transgenic mice and AAV vectors to study neural circuits of reward. The transgenic mice are purchased from a vendor, and express Cre within specific cell types involved in neural activity and chemical neurotransmission in brain reward circuits. The AAV vectors express fluorescent markers and chemo and optogenetic proteins. AAV are administered through stereotaxic injection of the brain. The lab will also use a commercially available non-toxic recombinant cholera toxin subunit B protein that has a fluorophore fused to it, to map the anatomical connections between the cells. The agents used are RG1. The appropriate containment levels used are BSL-1, BL1, and ABSL-1. The applicable NIH Guidelines are III-D-4, III-E-1, and III-F-8-C-VII. The facilities were reviewed and they are appropriate for the work performed. The BSL-1 self-inspection checklist was reviewed by EHS and is adequate. The principal investigator has the expertise to perform the work. The rsNA & Toxin form, biosafety manual, and SOPs were reviewed and they are appropriate for the work performed. No major concerns were raised. On a motion and a second, a majority of the IBC members voted to Approve protocol 25-032 [18 of 18 members present voted to Approve the protocol].
      
      
   3. Protocol 25-033, new submission. Dr. Igwe attended the meeting and provided an overview of the project. The principal investigator left the meeting during the IBC’s discussion and vote. The protocol involves the cloning, expression, and isolation of copper-containing enzymes that are involved in oxygen activation. The enzyme genes will be from plants such as Coffea arabica, Ceanothus americanus, and Gossypium spp., and fungi such as Aspergillus spp.. The lab will use synthetic sequences obtained from vendors and will be codon optimized for E. coli. They will also perform site-directed mutagenesis to introduce specific amino acid changes in the genes to study the mechanistic aspects of the enzyme function. Enzyme function will be analyzed in vitro using purchased synthetic peptide substrates, copper ions, and reducing agents. The genes will be cloned in RG1 E. coli BL21. Standard cloning vectors, such as pET28 are used. The agents used are RG1. The appropriate containment levels used are BSL-1 and BL1. The applicable NIH Guideline is III-E. The facilities were reviewed and they are appropriate for the work performed. The BSL-1 self-inspection checklist was reviewed by EHS and is adequate. The principal investigator has the expertise to perform the work. The rsNA & Toxin form, biosafety manual, and SOPs were reviewed and they are appropriate for the work performed. No major concerns were raised. No edits are needed but some personnel need to complete training. On a motion and a second, a majority of the IBC members voted to Require Modifications to protocol 25-033 with final review by the IBCP after the training is completed [18 of 18 members present voted to Require Modifications to the protocol].
       
4. Other Business
   The IBC administrator reminded the members that October is biosafety and biosecurity month, and the annual biosafety and biosecurity event will be held on Oct. 6, 2025.
   
   No other business was discussed.
   
   
5. Public Comments
   There were no public comments.
   
   
6. The next regularly scheduled IBC meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, from 2 - 5 p.m.
   
   
7. With no further business, and with no objections from the members, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 2:32 p.m.

Minutes recorded by R. Allen.