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UC DAVIS: Office of Research August 19, 2003 OPEN LETTER TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY REGARDING RESEARCH USING SELECT AGENTS A recent article in the press focused on requirements of the federal Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 relating to research involving 'select agents.' This Act does not place any restrictions on the freedom of university faculty to publish research involving select agents; however, it does place limitations on certain information concerning security of select agents. First, research on all University of California campuses is governed by a policy that advocates free and open research. The UC Davis campus currently engages in research with select agents and would do so in the proposed National Biocontainment Laboratory (NBL). This research is not classified or secret. The campus policies and positions on potential research publication restrictions, summarized below, have been presented in a series of letters written over the course of the last year, and can be found on the web page http://ovcr.ucdavis.edu/vc/nblexchange.html. UC Davis will not enter into an agreement with any agency that would impose research restrictions that violate UC policy. We know that, if this policy is unacceptable to a funding agency, this could compromise our chances for gaining support for certain research and facilities, including the NBL and the research conducted therein. The foregoing makes it clear that we will only enter into research agreements that follow our UC-wide and campus policy of free and open research dissemination. Research publication restrictions can be imposed only when approved by the University of California President. The question remains, under what circumstances would our campus make a recommendation to the UC President for an exception to policy; what are our campus guidelines in this area? A campus task force studied this issue over the past year and has recommended to the Academic Senate and the Academic Federation that a formal committee be appointed and charged to write recommended guidelines and principles to be considered when/if national or international circumstances indicate the need to request from the UC President an exception to the policy of research openness. This committee will be convened early in the 2003-2004 academic year. Its deliberations will guide the necessary campus-wide discourse on this issue. We look forward to the discussion and welcome your input into the dialogue. Secondly, with specific reference to research conducted on select agents, it is important to emphasize that the issue of security of these materials is not related to freedom to publish research conducted on select agents. In either existing laboratories or the proposed NBL, the law governing select agents is defined in the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. Even though the Act's provisions limiting disclosure of certain information regarding select agents (such as location and quantity) is directed at "federal agencies", UC General Counsel has determined that universities will be subject to these same limitations. The Act does not restrict the University from publishing research on select agents or from disclosing the select agents with which it works. However, in the case of a release of select agents, the University must immediately report such incidents to the state and local public health officials (including the Yolo County Public Health Officer) and to the responsible federal public health agency (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). These are the offices that are responsible for public health and safety and are best prepared for the coordination of appropriate responses. These agencies would direct the response and our campus would work cooperatively with them. I have attached additional information regarding these issues and, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding our policies or information, please do not hesitate to contact me at bmklein@ucdavis.edu or at Office of Research, One Shields Avenue, UC Davis, Davis, CA 95616 Sincerely, Barry M. Klein Vice Chancellor for Research 03-093
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