About

About the Biosafety Committee

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is a body that reviews and advises on risk assessment and biosafety as a whole — in order to ensure the safety of recombinant DNA experiments and research handling high-risk pathogens conducted within Seoul National University Hospital — pursuant to the “Act on the Transboundary Movement, etc. of Living Modified Organisms (LMO Act)” and the “Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.”

Key Roles

To prevent pathogen leakage and laboratory-acquired infections (LAI), the Committee performs the essential role of reviewing the appropriateness of the Biosafety Level from the research-planning stage.

Risk Assessment & Review

Biosafety risk assessment and review of research with potential hazards from organisms such as living modified organisms and high-risk pathogens

Review of research across the institution to ensure practical safety at research sites

Biosecurity & Advice to the Head of Institution

Establishing biosecurity measures and safety-assurance plans when handling high-risk pathogens

Advising the head of the institution through specialized education programs

History & Jurisdiction

The Research Safety Management Committee, which had operated since 2007, was renamed the Biosafety Committee in December 2013 and elevated to a specialized committee reporting directly to the President of Seoul National University Hospital, thereby establishing its own expertise. The Committee reviews the licensing feasibility of Biosafety Level 3 (BL3) facilities and high-risk pathogen handling facilities, and maintains a research environment that meets national management standards by providing technical advice to 27 LMO research facilities.

Collaboration System

To build a safe biological-research ecosystem, the Committee maintains close information exchange and collaboration not only with principal investigators and research personnel but also with other specialized committees such as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Through this organic safety-management network, it protects research personnel and contributes to fostering an advanced research culture in which scientific validity and biological safety coexist.