Research Training Requirements

All members of the U of R community that work with biological materials should be familiar with the appropriate sections of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories manual set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The IBC aligns their training requirements and inspections with the best practices in this document.

At this time, specific training of individuals will take place through CITI. CITI administration is performed by the UR IRB Chair. Please see below for specific requirements for researchers. The principal investigators hold the right to require additional training for staff and students.

Research Labs

All members of research labs must complete the CITI course "Basic Introduction to Biosafety" before starting work on the project.

Principal investigators (PIs) should also complete the "Initial Biosafety Training" CITI course. Because the naming convention in the CITI site is confusing, please see here for a graphic with clarifying information.

There are additional courses on the CITI website that PIs may require for students and staff. For students and staff joining the laboratory, or performing new techniques, it is the responsibility of the PI to inform them which trainings they must complete. Protocol training should be found in the respective lab training manuals and must be completed as indicated by the PI before experimentation can begin. By the second Monday of the Fall semester, Spring semester, and summer research period, the PI should submit a Student Researcher Training Form every fall, spring, and summer term to biosafety@richmond.edu. If a student or staff member starts mid-semester, the PI should require completion of training before they start work and immediately update the IBC chair.

Courses

For courses with biosafety consideration, instructors should complete the CITI courses "Basic Introduction to Biosafety" and "Initial Biosafety Training". Because the naming convention in the CITI site is confusing, please see here for a graphic with clarifying information. A syllabus statement referring to biosafety considerations for the course or individual experiments should include information from CITI training by the instructor. Please see the classroom biosafety sheet for more details.

IACUC

Some IBC regulated experiments require animals. Those will also be subjected to review by IACUC. The IBC and IACUC will be in communication as necessary. Please refer to their website.

Bloodborne Pathogen Training (BBP)

Some IBC regulated experiments require bloodborne pathogen training. Examples of work that require BBP training include, but are not limited to, experiments with blood, blood components, human cell lines or primate cell lines.  Click here to access the document with information about materials falling under the BBP standard. All members of research labs with risk of exposure to BBP must complete the CITI course OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens before starting work on the project. In addition, lab specific training must be provided by the PI.