Toggle – Andrew Maksymowych

Andrew has been at the University of Pennsylvania since 2006. He is Penn’s Institutional Biosafety Officer, Associate Director for Life Sciences Safety (BIOSAFETY) and Compliance Programs, IBC Director & Administrator, and the Institutional Contact for Dual Use Research. He sits on the Vice Provost’s for Research, Human Research Advisory Committee, the Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, the Cadaver and Body Parts Oversight Committee, and the Veterinary School’s Privately Owned Animal Protocol Review Committee. Andrew obtained his BS and MS degrees from Villanova University, and his PhD in Biochemistry from Bryn Mawr College. He has more than 20 years of teaching and 35 years of research experience, a major portion of which included oversight of research safety and compliance programs. Prior to his journey at Penn, he held a faculty appointment at Thomas Jefferson University where his research focused on the analysis of structure-function relationships in proteins, including protein toxins that poison the human nervous system, studying the mechanism of action of botulinum neurotoxins. He is passionate about supporting professional development for colleagues in the biosafety and biosecurity professions within and outside of Penn. Outside of Penn, Andrew is a founding member of the Biosafety Administrators Association (BSAA). The BSAA was instituted to facilitate training and provide professional support to those administering biosafety research compliance programs. He is a proud recipient of the ABSA International, John H. Richardson Special Recognition Award (2025).