Sunday, October 26, 2025
6:30 – 8:30 pm Opening Reception in the Exhibit Hall
MONDAY SCHEDULE:
Scientific Program
October 27, 2025
All times listed will be Eastern Standard Time
7:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration
7:00 – 8:00 am Continental Breakfast in Foyer
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Vendor Exhibits
8:00 – 8:15 am Welcome and ABSA International President’s Address
Sherry S. Bohn, PhD, MSL, CBSP(ABSA), SM(NRCM), University of Maryland—Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
8:15 – 8:20 am Local Arrangements Committee Welcome
Scott Alderman, MS, CBSP(ABSA), Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Durham, NC
8:20 – 8:25 am Scientific Program Committee Welcome
Colleen Kovacsics, PhD, RBP(ABSA), FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Morrisville, NC
Session 1 | Arnold G. Wedum Memorial Lecture Award
Introduction: Colleen Kovacsics, PhD, RBP(ABSA), FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Morrisville, NC
Moderator: Shelley Jones, MS, RBP(ABSA), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
8:25 – 9:15 am The Global One Health Paradigm and the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance
Wondwossen Gebreyes, DVM, PhD, DACVPM, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
9:15 – 9:25 am Q&A Session
9:25 – 9:55 am | Exhibits, Posters, and Coffee Break
Session 2 | Applied Biosafety
Moderators:
Matthew Anderson, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), MRIGlobal, Kansas City, MO
Betsy Matos, PhD, CBSP(ABSA), Iowa State University, Ames, IA
9:55 – 10:10 am BSC MythBusters: All Airflow Monitors are Created Equal
Kara Held, PhD, The Baker Company, Sanford, ME
10:10 – 10:25 am Heat Me with Your Best Shot
Shane Riddell, MSc, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, East Geelong, Victoria, Australia
10:25 – 10:40 am Cutting Edge Safety: Characterizing Sharps Use in the Research Laboratories
Sheryl Mansour, MPA, University of California—San Diego, San Diego, CA
10:40 – 10:55 am Q&A Session
10:55 – 11:00 am | Stretch
Session 3 | Poster Speed Talks
Moderators:
Colleen Driskill, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA
Rachel Gamble, DrPH, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Pond & Company, Peachtree Corners, GA
11:00 – 11:30 am
Implementing Risk-Based Stratified Controls for the Safe Use of Diphtheria Toxin
Mary Brock, CBSP(ABSA), CPBCA, Duke University, Durham, NC
Use of Hybrid Hydrogen PeroxideTM Vapor to Decontaminate a Small Hepa Housing with Hepa Filter Installed
Rachael Sullivan, MS, RBP(ABSA), Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Tips & Tricks for Designing Studies with UV-Reactive Microorganism Simulants
Devin Boyles, MS, RBP(ABSA), CPH, MRIGlobal, Gaithersburg, MD
Mobilizing Biosafety — An Intro to Mobile Laboratories & Event Preparedness
Shoolah Escott, MS, MT(ASCP), Biosafety and Biosecurity Trainer, Lexington, MA
Developing Pharma Biosafety Professionals: The Right Mix of on the Job and Structured Training
Michelle Frondelli, PhD, RBP(ABSA), Johnson and Johnson, Raritan, NJ
Advancing Laboratory Safety: The Impact of Community Outreach and Training Initiatives at Boston Children’s Hospital
Madeeha Maqsood, MS, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Celebrating 25 Years of the Needlestick Prevention Act!
Marian Downing, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), SM(NRCM), Consultant, Kemah, TX
Efficacy of Current Vaccines Against Recently Isolated Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Type A South America (Venezuela) in Egypt 2022
Nermeen Shafik, PhD, Central Laboratory for Evaluation of Veterinary Biologics, Cairo, Egypt
Occupational Hazard Assessments for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Erica Dahl, PhD DABT, SafeBridge Consultants, Inc., New York, NY
11:30 – 1:00 pm | Exhibits, Posters, and Lunch
Session 4 | Poster Session
12:00 – 1:00 pm Presenters must be available during the session.
Session 5 | Griffin Lecture Award
Introduction: Erin Sorrell, PhD, MSc, Elizabeth R. Griffin Program, Washington, DC
Moderator: Sunny Hoffman, MPH, RBP(ABSA), Columbia, MO
1:00 – 1:45 pm From National to Continental Biosafety: Morocco’s Path, BMAM’s Role, and AfBSA’s Future
Larbi Baassi, PhD, IFBA-CP, AfRSME Africa-CDC, Biorisk Management Association of Morocco (BMAM), Rabat, Morocco
1:45 – 2:00 pm Q&A Session
2:00 – 2:30 pm | Exhibits, Posters, and Coffee Break
Session 6 | Perspectives Beyond the Traditional Lab
Moderators:
Mike McCarthy, RBP(ABSA), Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA
Eric Lewis, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ
2:30 – 2:45 pm Biosafety from the Field: Livestock to Public Health Laboratories
Eric Lundquist, RBP(ABSA), Minnesota Department of Health, St Paul, MN
2:45 – 3:00 pm Biosafety & Beyond in Marine Research
Shane Gillooly, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), CSP, University of Miami, Miami, FL
3:00 – 3:15 pm Developing CAR-T Therapies: Lessons Learned from a Biosafety Perspective
Edward David, MPH, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Bristol Myers Squibb, San Diego, CA
3:15 – 3:30 pm Greater than 10 Liters…What About 20,000 Liters? Large-Scale Biorisk Management at North America’s Biggest End to End Manufacturing Facility for Biologically Derived Therapeutics
AJ Troiano, PhD, RBP(ABSA), FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Morrisville, NC
3:30 – 3:45 pm Enhanced Laboratory Containment: Beyond Standard Biosafety Levels
Drew Fayram, MS, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Merrick & Company, Greenwood Village, CO
3:45 – 4:00 pm Q&A Session
4:00 – 4:05 pm | Stretch
Session 7 | Planning for the Future of Biosafety
Moderators:
Francine Rogers, MS, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), SM(NRCM), Tufts University, Boston, MA
Don Sibley, PhD, Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA
4:05 – 4:20 pm Realigning Biosafety Biosecurity to the Modern Biological Order
Aparupa Sengupta, PhD, RBP(ABSA), Nuclear Threat Initiative, Washington, DC
4:20 – 4:35 pm Oversight of High Consequence Research and Horizon Scanning for Emerging Risks from Synthetic Biology and Artificial Intelligence
Matthew Sharkey, PhD, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (OPP, BIO), Washington, DC
4:35 – 4:50 pm Building Resilience: Biosafety Planning in an Evolving Regulatory Climate
Heidi Page, MS, RBP(ABSA), Azelia Laboratories, Pepper Pike, OH
4:50 – 5:05 pm Q&A Session
5:10 – Close | Members’ Business Meeting
Door prizes will be awarded—must be present to win.