Upcoming Events
Boston Biosafety Users Group (BBUG)
The Boston Biosafety Users Group (BBUG) was created in 2012 by the Director of COMS as a forum to discuss current biosafety and biosecurity issues with local colleagues. Over the years, BBUG expanded outreach efforts and currently hosts three to four webinars a year, with attendees representing academic, non-profit and for-profit institutions. An array of topics are presented annually including infectious diseases, biosafety cabinet best practices and regulatory updates.
The webinars are currently scheduled for 90 minutes and are recorded. BBUG is sponsored by the New England Biological Safety Association (NEBSA). BBUG offers certificates of attendance as CEU credits through NEBSA. Attendance is currently free. If you would like to attend these webinars and/or have a topic of interest that you would like to learn more about or present on, please reach out to our office at COMS@hms.harvard.edu to be added to the listserv.
The next upcoming BBUG event: June 23, 2026 12:00PM - 1:30PM
RSVP: Please stay tuned for more details.
COMS Public Meeting
Public Institutional Biosafety Committee Meeting at Harvard Medical School
On Friday, November 6, 2026 at 10 a.m. the Harvard Institutional Biosafety Committee will open its regularly scheduled meeting at the Harvard Medical School to the general public using Zoom. The public will be able to observe how the committee reviews and assesses safety practices of biological research conducted at Harvard and its affiliated institutions located in the Longwood Medical Area. Members of the public can submit written comments or questions before the meeting via email to COMSPublicMeeting@hms.harvard.edu. During the meeting, comments and/or questions can be posted using the chat function. Within the seven (7) days following the meeting, written comments or questions can be sent to COMSPublicMeeting@hms.harvard.edu. Responses to public comments will be provided during the meeting or by posting the responses on the HMS COMS website, after the meeting.
This meeting satisfies the Boston Public Health Commission’s requirement that all institutional biosafety committees hold an annual meeting that is open to the public. To learn more about COMS, please visit the COMS website https://coms.hms.harvard.edu/. To RSVP for the public meeting email COMSPublicMeeting@hms.harvard.edu.
Harvard Yale Biosafety Symposium
The next Harvard-Yale Biosafety Symposium has not yet been officially announced. Please revisit this page periodically for updates and additional information as they become available.
HYBS Flyer: TBD
Location: TBD