The existence of an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is required by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research involving recombinant and synthetic nucleic acid molecules. Mississippi State University (MSU) has expanded the scope of the IBC to include oversight, administration and review of University policies and research involving any microorganism, biologic toxin, or other biologic material which may pose a threat to humans, animals, plants or the environment.