Scientific Program

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

All times are listed in CENTRAL Standard Time

8:00 – 8:10 am ABSA International President’s Welcome
Luis Alberto Ochoa Carrera, MSc, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

8:10 – 8:15 am Biosecurity Symposium Steering Committee Chair Welcome
Cristine C. Lawson, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), DoD BSAT Biorisk Program Office, Frederick, MD

Session I Keynote Speaker

8:15 – 9:00 am Biodefense Research Two Decades Later: Worth the Investment?
Carrie Mae Long, PhD, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT
Andrea Marzi, PhD, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT

9:00 – 9:15 am Interactive Q&A Session

Session II Material Control/Accountability/Access Control

9:15 – 9:40 am Trusted Access Management: Securing Your Campus or Facility
Bill Edwards, CPP, PSP, PCI, CPD, CIMP, Building Intelligence Inc., New York, NY

9:40 – 10:05 am Biosecurity Management, QR Code Technology for Enhanced Inventory Control
Alberto Balderas Martinez, PhD, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Toluca, Mexico

10:05 – 10:30 am Who’s That Knocking at Your Laboratory Door?
Jason P. Nagy, PhD, MLS(ASCP), Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk, VA

10:30 – 10:45 am Interactive Q&A Session

10:45 – 11:00 am Break

Session III Cybersecurity

11:00 – 11:25 am Cyberbiosecurity: A Unique Marriage of Biosecurity and Information Systems
Justin Krehel, MBA, Science and Safety Consulting, McMurray, PA

11:25 – 11:50 am Integrating Cyber Concerns into Biosecurity Programs
Lauren Richardson, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Merrick & Company, Greenwood Village, CO

11:50 – 12:15 pm Strengthening Cyber Biosecurity in the Brazilian Biomedical Institutions: A Train-the-Trainer Collaboration Between SB3, HSP, and BEP
Claudio Mafra, DVM, PhD, Federal University of Vicosa/Brazilian Society of Biosafety and Biosecurity, Vicosa, Brazil

12:15 – 12:30 pm Interactive Q&A Session

12:30 – 1:30 pm Break/Posters

Session IV Suitability/Reliability

1:30 – 1:55 pm Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management to Prevent Insider Threats
Drew C. Fayram, MS, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Merrick & Company, Arlington, VA

1:55 – 2:20 pm Physical Protection and Security Considerations for Category 1 and 2 Radioactive Material Sources of Concern
Janet Gutiérrez, DrPH, CHP, CSP, LMP, RRPT, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX

2:20 – 2:45 pm Occupational Health Considerations for Suitability Programs (Biological and Controlled Medical Substances)
Inzune K. Hwang, MD, MPH

2:45 – 3:00 pm Interactive Q&A Session

3:00 – 3:15 pm Break

Session V Keynote Speaker

3:15 – 4:00 pm Raising the Global Bar for Biosafety and Biosecurity: We All Have a Role
Danielle Lohman, PhD, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

4:00 – 4:15 pm Interactive Q&A Session

Close of Day
Ryan Burnette, PhD, Merrick & Company, Greenwood Village, CO

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

All times are listed in CENTRAL Standard Time

8:00 – 8:05 am Biosecurity Symposium Steering Committee Chair Welcome
Enitra Jones Sprouse, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Session VI Keynote Speaker

8:05 – 8:50 am Scientific/Technical and the Risk Governance Related Aspects of Artificial Intelligence
Gunnar Jeremias, PhD, and Anna Krin, PhD, MSc, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Centre for Science and Peace Research at Hamburg University (ZNF), Hamburg, Germany

8:50 – 9:05 am Interactive Q&A Session

Session VII Training

9:05 – 9:30 am Lessons Learned from Preparing US Biosafety Specialists for Working in Overseas Labs
Scott G. Shearrer, RBP(ABSA), MRIGlobal, Gaithersburg, MD

9:30 – 9:55 am Navigating Biosafety and Biosecurity: A 2024 Training and Course Guide
Major Ken Nguyen, MS, U.S. Amry Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD

9:55 – 10:20 am Biosecurity Training
Ben Perman, CDR(Ret.), PhD, RBP(ABSA), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Washington, DC

10:20 – 10:35 am Interactive Q&A Session

10:35 – 10:50 am Break

Session VIII Public Health Biosecurity

10:50 – 11:15 am Enhancing Biosecurity: A Toolkit for Public Health and Clinical Diagnostic Laboratories
Michael J. Perry, MS Ed, New York State Department of Health—Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY

11:15 – 11:40 am Applying Biosecurity Measures Outside the Laboratory: A Public Health Perspective
Samantha Dittrich, MPH, Merrick & Company, Richmond, VA

11:40 – 12:05 pm Public Health Laboratories and Biorisk Management
CDR Sabrina Debose, DHSc, RBP(ABSA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

12:05 – 12:20 pm Interactive Q&A Session

12:20 – 1:20 pm Break/Posters

Session IX Animal Facilities Biosecurity Roundtable

1:20 – 2:50 pm Panelists:
Ellie Was, MS, Charles River Accelerator and Development Laboratories (CRADL), Wilmington, MA
Brian Zude, DVM, Charles River Accelerator and Development Laboratories (CRADL), Wilmington, MA
Susan Harper, DVM, MS, DACLAM, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Mei-Chuan Huang, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), RLATg, SM(NRCM), University of California—San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Mark A. Hammargren, CPP, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX

2:50 – 3:05 pm Break

Session X Keynote Speaker

3:05 – 3:50 pm Biosecurity and Emerging Agrosecurity Threats (LIVE SESSION ONLY)
Susan Cropp, PhD, and Stephen Goldsmith, DVM, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC

3:50 – 4:05 pm Interactive Q&A Session

Close of Symposium
Cristine C. Lawson, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), DoD BSAT Biorisk Program Office, Frederick, MD