Last Revised: January 23, 2026
Institutional Biosafety Committee Members
| Name | Affiliation | Title/Dept. |
| Dr. Steven Albelda Expert Oncology | UPenn, Perelman School of Medicine | William Maul Measey Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Division |
| Dr. Julian Baptiste | Community Member | |
| Dr. Paul F. Bates Expert Virology | UPenn, Perelman School of Medicine | Professor, Department of Microbiology |
| Dr. Jessica Buchanan Expert Export Compliance | UPenn, Office of Research Services | Director Export Compliance |
| Dr. Sara Cherry Expert Genetic & Mechanistic Viral-host Interactions | UPenn, Perelman School of Medicine | John W. Eckman Professor of Medical Science, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine |
| Dr. Sherrill Davison Expert Avian Medicine & Pathology | UPenn, School of Veterinary Medicine | Associate Professor, Avian Medicine and Pathology |
| Dr. Joseph A. Fraietta Expert Microbiology & Solid Tumor Immunotherapy | UPenn, Perelman School of Medicine | Assistant Professor, Microbiology |
| Dorothy D. Kaplan, RN | Community Member | |
| Dr. Daniel S. Kessler CHAIRMAN | UPenn, Perelman School of Medicine | Associate Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Dr. Andrew B. Maksymowych Institutional Biosafety Officer, IBC Contact | UPenn, Provost Center | Institutional Biosafety Officer, Director Institutional Biosafety Committee, Institutional Contact Associate Director Biological Safety & Compliance Programs, |
| Dr. Maureen O'Leary Expert Environmental Health & Biosafety | UPenn, Provost Center | Associate Vice Provost for Research, Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety |
| Dr. David Pegues Expert Infection Control | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania | Medical Director, Healthcare Epidemiology, Infection Prevention and Control |
| Denene M. Wambach, Esquire Expert Research Law | UPenn Office of General Counsel | Associate General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, University of Pennsylvania & Penn Medicine |
| Jessica L. Yoos, MA, M.Phil.Ed, CIP Expert Human Research Protections | UPenn, Provost Center | Director, Human Research Protections, Office of the Institutional Review Board, Human Research Protections Program |
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Member Resources
Important Links & Review Documents
- All IBC registrations and amendments to approved IBC registrations are submitted and reviewed through the Penn IBC Electronic Registration System (PIERS).
- HGT summary reviews are completed using the IBC HGT Summary Worksheet V2.1 and sent to the IBC Administrator and Director (emails on the upper left side of this page).
Relevant Publications
Learn more about the NIH Guidelines, Biosafety, and Institutional Biosafety Committees:
- The purpose of the NIH Guidelines is to specify the biosafety practices and containment principles for constructing and handling: (i) recombinant nucleic acid molecules, (ii) synthetic nucleic acid molecules, including those that are chemically or otherwise modified but can base pair with naturally occurring nucleic acid molecules, and (iii) cells, organisms, and viruses containing such molecules. NIH GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING RECOMBINANT OR SYNTHETIC NUCLEIC ACID MOLECULES (NIH GUIDELINES) April 2024
- FAQs on Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Administration – April 2024
- NIH is in the process of strengthening and modernizing biosafety oversight. For more details, including dates and registration for Listening Sessions, please visit: https://osp.od.nih.gov/policies/biosafety-and-biosecurity-policy#tab2/
- Ghosh, S., Blind, J., Fowler, A., Parsons, S., Nelson, K., and Campbell, K. (2025). Biosafety Guidelines for Viral Vector-Based Gene Therapies: A Resource for Healthcare and Pharmacy Professionals. Applied Biosafety. 30(4), 273-295.
Member Training
January 26, 2026: How to Find Registrations for Review on PIERS