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Biosafety Training

Dickinson’s institutional policies for the Institutional Biosafety Committee require that committee members, researchers, instructors, and students undertake training so that a) research protocols may be appropriately reviewed for risk and b) researchers minimize risk in the course of conducting their research or classroom protocol. These committee-specific policies allow Dickinson to remain compliant with federal regulations which require such training.

1. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)

CITI offers web-based Biosafety training courses, plus specialized courses for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), which have been designed by a collaboration of some 3000 universities, colleges, independent research labs and government agencies. These courses meet Dickinson’s policy requirements. Each CITI course provides bibliographic and other resources which may be incorporated into faculty teaching and research mentoring. The courses contain required as well as optional modules, so this tool can be customized by the faculty researcher to meet the needs of different disciplines or individual projects. It is also possible, if a faculty member desires, to create additional original content.

Download the login instructions for Biosafety (use your network ID and password).

Go directly to Dickinson’s CITI Training Site.

Have a about CITI question? Check the CITI Q&A (use your network ID and password). 

Still not sure which training you need to take or where to find it on the Dickinson website? Consult the Dickinson Research Training Finder (use your network ID and password if needed).

Critical CITI Info for All Learners 

  1. Make sure to use your Dickinson email address only!
  2. Make sure you enter your BANNER ID under “employer ID".
  3. You may stop and continue your training at any time. 
  4. The overall grade for any CITI course must be 80% for it to be considered a successful completion.
  5. When you are finished, the CITI Course Completion Report will be forwarded automatically to the IBC Mentor protocol system. You may save a copy of the report for your own files.

2. Additional Required Biosafety Training

Faculty and students listed on protocols must ALSO have completed the Lab Safety, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) on-line training provided by the Environmental Health and Safety Office prior to initiating any research. Students must take these courses annually as long as the student is associated with the protocol. Certifications that you have taken and passed the training will be logged in Dickinson systems so there is not need to upload certifications to Mentor, Totara, or send to the IACUC Chair.  Link to non-CITI Biosafety training programs.

Still not sure which training you need to take or where to find it on the Dickinson website? Consult the Dickinson Research Training Finder (use your network ID and password if needed).

Deadline Info for Students

Students engaged in summer collaborative research under biosafety research protocols:

  1. You may start the course any time after you and your faculty member agree to collaborate and your faculty mentor has assigned the appropriate course(s).
  2. If you are a summer collaborative research student, you have until the end of the first week after the start of the project to complete the course and turn in the certification forms. 
  3. Your faculty mentor may require that you take certain optional courses.

Students engaged in collaborative research during the academic year involving biosafety research protocols:

  1. For the training to be effective and useful, students must undertake the training prior to their involvement with the laboratory protocol.
  2. If your engagement with the research has already started, you need to take the courses immediately.

Students engaged in classroom work involving biosafety classroom protocols. 

  1. You are required to take Lab Safety and Bloodborne Pathogen training through CITI
  2. The instructor may require you to take additional specific CITI modules.
  3. For the training to be effective and useful, students should undertake the training prior to the initiation of the classroom laboratory.
  4. Precisely how and when the training is taken is left to discretion of each faculty member.

Deadline Info for Faculty Principal Investigators and Instructors   

  1. Faculty with new protocols must take the training prior to conducting the protocol.
  2. Faculty who are also IBC members: training modules taken solely for IBC membership will “count” when training modules for PIs are also taken. A course cross-listed in another group will not need to be taken twice.
  3. Retraining will be required after FIVE years. This requirements is for PI's as well as Committee Members (per IBC 2/3/2017).

Deadline Info for IBC Committee Members

  1. Committee members should begin the training immediately upon initiation of their term of service to the Committtee.