Biosafety
The Biosafety Division provides technical expertise and support to ensure a safe working and learning environment and monitors compliance with federal and provincial legislation and guidelines pertaining to biohazards.
Our services include the following:
- Review and approval of grants and other funding sources for research involving biohazardous materials
- Review and approval of work protocols involving biohazardous materials
- Maintenance of a federally-mandated registry of all University research groups that work with biohazardous materials
- Annual testing of biological safety cabinets and other aerosol containment devices
- Assistance with the completion of importation permits or compliance letters for the acquisition of biohazardous materials from international or commerical sources
- Advice on proper documentation and packaging of biohazardous materials for transport
- Advice on the proper waste management practices for various biohazardous materials
The following materials and activities are considered biohazardous; research groups should consult with the Biosafety Division before initiating research involving the following:
- Any pathogenic microbe (i.e., virus, bacterium, fungus, or parasite rated risk group 2 or greater)
- Any commerical eukaryotic cell line rated risk group 2 (due to lysogenic viruses historically associated with the cell line)
- Large-scale, single-volume culture in excess of 10 litres of any microbial or eukaryotic cell line
- Any isolated preparation of microbial toxin including lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
- Any human clinical specimens, including blood or other body fluids, or primary culture of isolated cells
- Environmental specimens or tissues from wild animals reasonably supected to contain pathogenic microbes
- Xenotransplant or genetic therapy studies involving vertebrate donors and/or recipients
- Genetic manipulations involving adenovirus, lentivirus, or retrovirus-based vector systems
- Genetic manipulations involving virulence genes or microcide resistance genes
- Animal or plant species not indigenous to Alberta
- Greenhouse or field studies with transgenic plants
Click here to contact the Biosafety Division.