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Work with microorganisms, recombinant/synthetic nucleic acids, human and animal materials, insect and animal vectors, and other potentially biohazardous materials is necessary in many university research and teaching applications and requires special practices and procedures, and in some cases, special equipment to protect personnel and the environment.

Texas Tech University is actively committed to preserving the health and safety of its students, staff, and faculty and to protecting the environment and surrounding community. The Department of Environmental Health & Safety provides guidance regarding the assessment, containment, and security of biological materials that complement the institutional operating policies which support compliance with the guidelines, recommendations, and regulations applicable to such work.

Biosafety News & Updates

NIH Biosafety Modernization Initiative

The NIH plans to have the draft of their new biosafety oversight policy ready for public comment in spring of 2026 with the final policy published in fall 2026. The public can submit written comments directly to the NIH through the widget below. Specifically, the NIH is seeking insight regarding the following:

The utility of agent risk groups (as outlined in the NIH Guidelines) in determining appropriate containment for specific experiments.
The levels of oversight that should be required under the policy and what categories of research should fall under those levels based on risk and safety data.
Opportunities where expedited review would be appropriate and what types of research would fall into such a level.

Recent changes to Biosafety Policy at TTU

Due to a change in state regulations, those using human materials collected post-mortem must be certified with the Texas Funeral Service Commission. Please see the Human & Non-human Primate webpage for details regarding this process.