Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
The Office of Research Safety also works closely with UChicago’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Our biological safety team consults on committee protocols that involve biohazardous materials and helps to identify areas where personal risk can be minimized.
Environmental Health and Safety
The Office of Research Safety collaborates regularly with UChicago Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) on all matters of laboratory safety. Our offices communicate relevant information regarding lab inspections, training and coordinate safety initiatives across campus. We strive to maintain a close, collaborative environment between all safety offices to provide the highest level of support to all individuals working in research laboratories at UChicago.
UChicago Medicine Environmental Health and Safety
The Office of Research Safety also works with UChicago Medicine Environmental Health and Safety. The biological safety and radiation safety teams regularly consult on matters relating to biohazards and radioactive materials that may be encountered in the clinical setting.
Duke Infectious Disease Response Training Program
The Duke Infectious Disease Response Training Program (DIDRT) is designed to prepare individuals at risk of infectious disease exposure in their work place to safely perform their assigned job duties. Awareness, operations and train-the-trainer level training is available for first responders, custodial workers, air travel and transport services workers, and healthcare and laboratory professionals. In addition to e-learning, hands-on training is provided at five federally constructed regional biocontainment laboratories across the United States. Training instructors are part of a national collaborative network of biosafety professionals with extensive experience delivering comprehensive and effective emergency response training.