Institutional Biosafety Committee Minutes

Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences Institutional Biosafety Committee Hybrid Meeting minutes from Thursday June 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM

IBC Members Present

• Dr. Gerwald Koehler: Committee Chair - Present
• Dr. I-Hsiu (George) Huang:  Scientific Member - Present
• Dr. Sue Katz Amburn:  Scientific Member - Present
• Dr. Crystal (Niki) Johnson: Scientific Member - Present
• William (BJ) Reddig: Lab representative - Present
• Dr. David Wallace: Animal Expert - Present
• Jennifer Nangle: Non-affiliated Member - Present
• Dr. Vikram Gujar: Alternate Member - Affiliated Scientist - Present, voted on IBC00001261

Quorum: Quorum is met. The IBC has (8) voting members present, and four (4) voting members are required to conduct business.

Others in Attendance

• Amber Hood: Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences - Director Regulatory Compliance & Research Facilities
• Rebecca Crandell: Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences - Assistant Director Research Compliance
• Kadin Falkensten: Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences - Research Compliance Coordinator, Biosafety Officer

Minutes

1. Call to Order
   • The IBC Chair called this meeting to order at 10:01am.
     1. Conflicts of Interest
        • The IBC Chair asked all members present to identify any conflicts of interest with the materials that are to be reviewed.
        • Dr. Johnson and BJ Reddig noted that they have a conflice of interest with voting on IBC- 0001261, and will recuse themselves for the discussion and vote of this protocol.
     2. Discussion of previous minutes
        • No discussion was held regarding the May 2026 IBC meeting minutes. Dr. Wallace motioned to approve hem as written, and BJ Reddig seconded. All members present were in favor of the motion.
     3. Review and Approval of previous meeting minutes
        • Date of previous meeting: Thursday, May 21 2026
        • Motion: Approve as Written
        • Votes:
          • For - 8
          • Against - 0
          • Abstain - 0
2. Review of Prior Business
   • Business: Report of pending/outstanding protocol(s)
   • Review and Discussion: At this meeting, one protocol was pending review at the next Biosafety Meeting: IBC-00001262, a New Protocol, from PI: Dr. Swarup Mitra.
3. New IBC Registrations and Amendments for Review
   1. Review of IBC-00001261
      • PI Name(s): Dr. Crystal Johnson
      • Registration Title/Number
        • Bioprospecting Lactic Acid Bacteria
        • IBC-00001261
      • Project Overview:
        • Lactic acid bacteria are a diverse group of fermentative microorganisms widely associated with foods, animals, humans, and other environments and are well known for producing organic acids and antimicrobial compounds that can inhibit competing microorganisms. This protocol involves the isolation and characterization of lactic acid bacteria to identify naturally produced antimicrobial compounds with potential applications in food safety, biotechnology, and human/animal health. Candidate bacterial isolates will be screened for antimicrobial activity against selected indicator organisms, and promising strains will be further evaluated to determine the range, stability, and general properties of the inhibitory compounds they produce. Molecular and genomic methods may be used to identify bacterial isolates and characterize genes associated with antimicrobial production and other relevant traits. Additional biochemical analyses may be used to distinguish proteinaceous antimicrobial activity from other inhibitory mechanisms and to evaluate the stability of candidate compounds under different processing conditions. Cultures will primarily be grown anaerobically and all isolates will be handled using appropriate biosafety BSL-2 practices until their identities and relevant characteristics are established.
      • NIH Guidelines Section
        • No NIH Guidelines were noted as applying to this project.
      • Risk Assessement
        • Generation of Splashes possible; possible sprays/aerosols from centrifugation; use of sharps
      • Discussion
        • No additional discussion was held regarding the hazardous procedures.
      • Training
        • All personnel listed on this application have completed the minimum required lab safety training courses, including Lab Chemical safety, Bloodborne Pathogens training, and Laboratory Biosafety training. Additionally, all personnel have documented in-lab training for specific procedures that are carried out in each individual lab.
      • Additional Training
        • No additional training was outlined for this application.
      • Occupational Health Respresentative Review (if applicable)
        • No additional occupational health concerns were outlined for this protocol.
      • Biosafety Level Assignment
        • Biosafety Level: 2
        • Additional Discussion or notes:  No additional discussion was held regarding the biosafety level.
      • IBC Vote
        • Motion: Approve Pending Changes
          • 1st: Dr. Huang
          • 2nd: Dr. Wallace
        • Votes:
          • For - 6
          • Against - 0
          • Abstain - 0
          • Recused - 0
        • Notes:
          • No additional discussion was held regarding the motion. Dr. Johnson and BJ Reddig were recused for the vote as they had a conflict of interest with this application.
4. New Business
   • No new business was discussed at this meeting
5. Additional/Other Business
   1. Notice of protocol approval since last meeting
      • Kadin Falkensten notified the committee that IBC-00001259, IBC00001216, and IBC- 0001258 were admininstratively approved since the last meeting, with the IBC's permission.
   2. Update regarding Continuing Review lapse procedures
      • Kadin Falkensten notified the committee about new procedures for continuing reviews, specifically if they lapse and are not completed on time. If a continuing review lapses, then it will be brought up at the next applicable IBC meeting for discussion and determiniation of next steps.
   3. Notice of personnel changes
      • At this meeting, Kadin Falkensten notified the committee that he will no longer be administrating the committee meetings due to a position change. Additionally, Dr. Koehler notified the committee that he will no longer be chair, and the Dr. Johnson will be the new chair for the next term.
6. Review of Incidents
   • No incidents were discussed at this meeting.
7. Inspections/Ongoing Oversight
   • No inspections or ongoing oversight were discussed at this meeting.
8. IBC Training
   • At this meeting, Dr. Koehler provided some education about the CDC select agents list (https://www.selectagents.gov/sat/index.htm). Dr. Koehler discussed a few of the agents on the list, and encouraged the members of the IBC to check back on the list regularly as the agents can change.
9. Public Comments
   • No public comments were recorded at this meeting.
10. Adjournment
    • The IBC Chair moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:35am.
    • The next IBC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 16 2026.