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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Riverside, California » Agricultural Water Efficiency and Salinity Research Unit » Research » Research Project #433369

Research Project: Collaborative Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Oversight and Research between UC Riverside and ARS Salinity Lab

Location: Agricultural Water Efficiency and Salinity Research Unit

Project Number: 2036-13210-012-001-N
Project Type: Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Oct 1, 2017
End Date: Sep 30, 2022

Objective:
The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the University of California , Riverside, (UCR) agree it is mutually beneficial to: (1) maintain collaborative relationships and share resources that are needed to achieve common research objectives; (2) strengthen the collaborations between ARS and UCR in areas of mutual interest through cooperative research programs and exchanges; (3) jointly explore and coordinate research activities of mutual interest within the scope of research and testing projects that involve work related to recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid technologies (r/s nucleic acids) and/or biohazardous agents and toxins (biohazards) conducted in the State of California, and thus enable USDA ARS Salinity Laboratory to ensure adherence to National Institutes of Health (NIH) "NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules"(NIH Guidelines); (4) clarify the specific oversight responsibilities of each party to the agreement; (5) encourage and facilitate direct contacts among appropriate scientists and other specialists; and (6) work toward long-term cooperation in agricultural research and development programs focused on developing and transferring solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority.

Approach:
This agreement would allow mutual collaborative use of facilities and services available through both UCR and the USDA ARS, subject to agreement of the individual researchers. The purpose of this agreement is to clarify the specific roles and responsibilities that each institution agrees to assume relative to the performance, conduct, management, and/or oversight of the ARS Salinity Lab research activities which specifically involve r/s nucleic acid and/or biohazards, in accordance with ARS Policies and Procedures 602.0, Institutional Biological Safety Committee.