Office for Research Protections | Biosafety | CATS Safety Project
What is CATS Safety?
CATS Safety is a new online system to manage protocol submission to the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). CATS Safety provides investigators, staff, and committee members with a streamlined, integrated, and more user-friendly process and system for managing the submission, review, and approval of biosafety protocols. The use of regulated and biohazardous materials in research and instruction is defined in University Policy RP11.
In addition, researchers submitting to the University Park IBC are moving to submitting their collective recombinant or biohazardous material research as one registration to cover multiple projects.
When do I need to start using CATS Safety?
- All new IBC protocols must be submitted in CATS Safety.
- Office for Research Protections (University Park and Commonwealth Campuses): Researchers due for a three-year renewal with an upcoming expiration in March will need to submit a new protocol in CATS Safety.
- Penn State Health and the College of Medicine: Researchers due for a full renewal with an upcoming expiration in April will need to submit a new protocol in CATS Safety.
Where can I get training?
- Frequent Zoom trainings on how to submit in CATS Safety are available throughout the spring; find a date and register: here.
- We encourage researchers to explore our resources, including quick references and multiple brief videos.
- Extensive guides are also available in the Help Center of CATS Safety (CATS Safety > Help Center > Safety Researcher’s Guide). Researchers should start with CATS Safety Researcher’s Guide.