69th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Hybrid Conference
Scientific Program
October 12-14, 2026
All times listed will be Eastern Standard Time
Monday, October 12, 2026
8:00 – 8:15 am Welcome and ABSA International President’s Address
Anne-Sophie Brocard, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), SM(NRCM), CHMM, CSP, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX
8:15 – 8:20 am Local Arrangements Committee Welcome
Anthony Walters, MPH, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
8:20 – 8:25 am Scientific Program Committee Welcome
Colleen Kovacsics, PhD, RBP(ABSA), Genentech, Philadelphia, PA
Session 1 | Arnold G. Wedum Memorial Lecture Award
8:25 – 9:15 am Title: TBD
Alvin Smith, PhD, PMP, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
9:15 – 9:25 am Q&A Session
9:25 – 9:55 am | Exhibits, Posters, and Coffee Break
Session 2 | Soft Skills for Hard Times
9:55 – 10:10 am It’s Not Pushback, It’s Neuroscience: SCARF‑Informed Change Management For Biorisk Professionals
Sherry S. Bohn, PhD, CBSP(ABSA), University of Maryland—Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
Walk away with practical techniques to manage resistance, handle conflict, and lead change more effectively in everyday biosafety and biosecurity interactions.
10:10 – 10:25 am Unlocking Your Inner Hero: Survival Tools For Solo Biosafety Professionals
Matt Anderson, PhD, CBSP(ABSA), RBP(ABSA), MRIGlobal, Kansas City, MO
Biosafety professionals can improve effectiveness and avoid burnout by applying the H.E.R.O framework detailed in this presentation to intentionally manage time, build efficient systems, prioritize self‑care, and stay connected to professional support networks.
10:25 – 10:40 am Building A Resilient Biosafety Career
Sivarchana Boada, PhD, RBP(ABSA), Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
Deliver actionable, evidence-informed strategies to enhance career resilience, promote workforce sustainability and support effective professional transitions in the biosafety field.
10:40 – 10:55 am Q&A Session
10:55 – 11:10 am | Break
Session 3 | Poster Speed Talks
11:10 – 11:40 am
If You’re HAB-by and You Know it, Wash Your Hands!
Michele Edenfield, MS, RBP(ABSA), U.S. Geological Survey, Norcross, GA
How to Mitigate and Respond to Threats in the Laboratory
Michael Marsico, MS, Association of Public Health Laboratories, Bethesda, MD
Validation of an Autoclave Cycle for Ruminant Waste
Rachael Sullivan, MS, RBP(ABSA), Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Clinical Use of Phage Therapy to Combat Antibiotic Resistant Infections
Scott Swindle, PhD, Advarra, Cary, NC
A Carcass Surrogate: Ballistics Gel
Trent Peacock, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX
IBC Process Improvement Initiative – Streamlining IBC Oversight While Empowering the Laboratory Safety Program
Linna Makmura, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
VHP Decon Validation of Chemical Indicators vs. Biological Indicators
Shelley Brown, RBP(ABSA), Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA
Compliance Requirements and Testing of Interior Finishes in High-Containment Facilities
Tom Walus, Canadian Association for Biological Safety, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Psychological Safety and its Role in Strengthening Biosafety Programs
Marianna Sansone, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Understanding Current Autoclave Safety Practices for Laboratory Spaces
Jocelyn Mendoza, NIH, Bethesda, MD
11:40 am – 1:10 pm | Exhibits, Posters, and Lunch
Session 4 | Poster Session
12:30 – 1:30 pm Presenters must be available during the session.
Session 5 | Griffin Lecture Award
1:10 – 1:55 pm Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
1:55 – 2:10 pm Q&A Session
2:10 – 2:40 pm | Exhibits, Posters, and Coffee Break
Session 6 | Biosafety Program Management
2:40 – 2:55 pm From SOPs To System: Implementing A Biorisk Management Framework At A CRO
Tristan White, MSc, BioAgilytix Labs, Durham, NC
Learn practical strategies for transforming disconnected biosafety procedures across multiple sites into an integrated biorisk management framework, including tools to standardize laboratory risk assessments and improve organizational oversight of biological risk.
2:55 – 3:10 pm Pre-Inspection Town Halls: Building Transparency and Strengthening Biosafety Compliance Across a Large University
Stephanie Adams-Tzivelekidis, MS, RBP(ABSA), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Pre-Inspection Town Halls improve laboratory preparedness for inspections while reducing compliance findings and will measurably support compliance and strengthen collaboration between research staff and biosafety officers.
3:10 – 3:25 pm Developing a Biosafety QA Training Program
Kathleen Woods Ignatoski, PhD, CPBCA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Certify compliance with regulations and guidelines, catch IBC application drift, ensure proper oversight, and disseminate information.
3:25 – 3:40 pm Q&A Session
3:40 – 3:55 pm | Break
Session 7 | Lessons Learned and Best Practices
3:55 – 4:10 pm Lessons Learned From Laboratory Related Exposures
Peili Zhu, RBP(ABSA), University of California—San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Outline lessons learned from laboratory-related exposures.
4:10 – 4:25 pm Best Practices in Sustainable Solid Biohazardous Waste Management in Bangladesh
Md Asadulghani, PhD, icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Waste generator‑level interventions have transformed biohazardous waste management in Bangladesh from a high‑cost, incineration‑dependent system into a safer, sustainable, and revenue‑generating model.
4:25 – 4:40 pm A Just Culture System: Fostering Biosafety and Biosecurity Culture Through Trust, and Promoting Incident and Near Miss Reporting
Barbara Johnson, RBP(ABSA), Biosafety Biosecurity International, Merritt Island, FL
Provide examples of how a Just Culture System can be implemented in a laboratory setting, roles and responsibilities at different organizational levels, and various reporting methods and their advantages and challenges.
4:40 – 4:55 pm Q&A Session
5:00 – Close | Members’ Business Meeting
Door prizes will be awarded—must be present to win.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Session 8 | Eagleson Lecture Award
8:00 – 8:45 am Title: TBD
Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, MD, McGovern Medical School (UTHealth Houston), Houston, TX
8:45 – 9:00 am Q&A Session
9:00 – 9:15 am | Break
Session 9 | Biosafety Grab-bag
9:15 – 9:30 am Infection Prevention and Control and Biosafety. Two Roads. Same Destination.
Tom Walus, Canadian Association for Biological Safety, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Biosafety and infection prevention and control share the common goal of protecting public health.
9:30 – 9:45 am Guidelines Needed for the Role of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Biohazardous Research
Daniel Eisenman, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), SM(NRCM), Advarra, Research Triangle Park, NC
Discuss how AI and robotics will impact biomedical research and how biosafety programs and IBCs should prepare.
9:45 – 10:00 am A Multidisciplinary Framework for Clinical Biosafety at Boston Children’s Hospital Madeeha Maqsood, MS, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Expanding advanced therapies require harmonized biosafety frameworks across clinical settings to protect staff, patients, and the community while ensuring safe, consistent handling of investigational biologics; this approach enables rapid, standardized guidance implementation.
10:00 – 10:15 am Q&A Session
10:15 – 10:45 am | Exhibits, Posters, and Coffee Break
Session 10 | Invited Speaker
10:45 – 11:30 am Title: TBD
Jerome Goddard, PhD, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
11:30 – 11:45 am Q&A Session
11:45 – 1:15 pm | Exhibits, Posters, and Lunch
Session 11 | Poster Session
12:15 – 1:15 pm Presenters must be available during the session.
Session 12 | Animal, Vegetable, Min…er Biosafety
1:15 – 1:30 pm Static to Dynamic: A Novel Approach to Vivarium Biosafety Signage
Meagan P. Fitzpatrick, MPH, Princeton, Princeton, NJ
Illuminate creative and low-resource ways to use existing institutional IT platforms to resolve biosafety hazard communication challenges in vivarium facilities.
1:30 – 1:45 pm Who Let the Dogs in? Service Animals in Academic Research Environments
Zoey Yi, MS, University of Missouri—Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
Highlight how clearer, standardized service animal policies can reduce biosafety risk while supporting accessibility and regulatory compliance in academic laboratories.
1:45 – 2:00 pm Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) as a Continuous Surveillance and Detection System for Fungal Pathogens in the Environment
Victoria Everhart, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK
Sequencing of microorganisms found in honeybee hive debris reveals informative variations in microbial community structure across different environments, demonstrating the use of honey bees as a useful pathogen monitoring system relevant to biosecurity and agricultural health.
2:00 – 2:15 pm Protecting Innovation: Biosafety in Crop Science
Bria Kettle, PhD, RBP(ABSA), Bayer, Chesterfield, MO
By challenging the misconception that plant and crop research poses minimal or no biosafety risk, we can strengthen safe agricultural innovation, support responsible use of biological crop protection tools, and help close corresponding emerging regulatory gaps.
2:15 – 2:45 pm Q&A Session
2:45 – 3:45 pm | Coffee Break, Posters, Exhibits, and Raffle
Exhibitor raffle prizes will be awarded – must be present to win
Session 13 | Applied Biosafety
3:45 – 4:00 pm BSC Mythbusters: Can All Holes in a HEPA Filter be Detected?
Kara Brunelle, PhD, Baker, Sanford, ME
The standard HEPA leak-check protocol will detect most holes in the filter medium, but there is a minimum that will not be discovered in the BSC.
4:00 – 4:15 pm No Germs Left Behind: Biological Verification Testing of a Chemical Effluent Decontamination System
Sabena Blakeney, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Pond & Company, Peachtree Corners, GA
Demonstrates that a simple, bench-top biological verification method can provide a practical and accessible validation framework for chemical effluent decontamination systems in high-containment laboratories.
4:15 – 4:30 pm Evaluation of Hybrid Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor for DNA Amplicon Inactivation in Sensitive Molecular Systems
Elizabeth Massoth, CURIS System, Manhattan, KS
Hybrid hydrogen peroxide vapor provides a practical method to control DNA amplicon contamination in sensitive PCR-based environments while enabling reuse of previously contaminated equipment and improving material compatibility compared to more aggressive chemistries.
4:30 – 4:45 pm When Steam Doesn’t Work: How to Choose Alternative Decontamination Methods?
Karen Gjendal, DVM, PhD, Bavarian Nordic A/S, Kvistgaard, Denmark
Challenging traditional ways of decontaminating production vessels used for manufacturing with highly pathogenic agents.
4:45 – 5:15 pm Q&A Session
6:00 – 10:00 pm | Banquet
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Session 14 | Invited Speaker
8:00 – 8:45 am Title: TBD
Neal Woollen, DVM, PhD, National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE
8:45 – 9:00 am Q&A Session
9:00 – 9:15 am | Break
Session 15 | Novel Topics in Containment
9:15 – 9:30 am Automated Cell Culture Systems and Biosafety Risk: Distinguishing Sterility Control From Biocontainment in Academic Laboratories
Ike Jacob, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Correctly matching system design to biological risk is essential to avoid false assumptions of containment and ensure safe implementation of automated cell culture technologies.
9:30 – 9:45 am Cleanroom vs. Containment: When cGMP Meets Biosafety in Modern Biologics Manufacturing
Allison Reeme, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Acacia Safety Consulting, Milwaukee, WI
Identify key differences between cGMP contamination control requirements and biosafety containment practices related to disinfection, HVAC systems, and PPE, and describe strategies for integrating both frameworks in biologics manufacturing environments.
9:45 – 10:00 am Automated Bio-decontamination for BSL Facilities Using Single Pass Air Flow
Matt Hofacre, MBA, STERIS Corporation, Mentor, OH
Integrating VHP into single‑pass airflow systems enables reliable, automated bio‑decontamination of BSL‑3/4 facilities while maintaining containment, airflow and pressure control, and HEPA filter protection.
10:00 – 10:15 am Q&A Session
10:15 – 10:30 am | Break
Session 16 | Assessing Your Biosafety Program
10:30 – 10:45 am Biosafety Program Assessments: Moving Beyond Compliance to Continuous Risk Reduction
Carrie Smith, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Merrick & Company, Greenwood Village, CO
Effective biosafety assessments must shift from checklist compliance to risk‑informed evaluation by integrating diverse perspectives, data trends, and leadership engagement to drive actionable improvements that keep pace with rapidly evolving laboratory technologies.
10:45 – 11:00 am Technology-enabled Validation of Biosafety Standard Operating Procedures and Risk Assessments at Tufts University New England Regional Biocontainment Laboratory
Tim Shukri, MSME, Cornerstone Commissioning, LLC, Boxford, MA
Demonstrate innovative practice using safe nucleic acid based airborne simulant used for SOP validation and risk assessment in a high-containment facility.
11:00 – 11:15 am Evaluating the Effectiveness of Research Safety and Compliance Training Programs at Abigail Wexner Research Institute
Sumit Ghosh, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
Evidence‑based guidance to enhance the effectiveness, relevance, and compliance value of research safety training, ultimately strengthening institutional safety culture and reducing risk across the research enterprise.
11:15 – 11:30 am One Health, One Shield: Digitally Transforming HCAT Oversight to Fortify Egypt’s Health Security Architecture
Wael ElRayes, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Egypt’s digital platform revolutionizes laboratory oversight, enabling real-time monitoring, emergency preparedness, and global health security compliance through innovative, scalable technology.
11:30 – 12:00 pm Q&A Session
12:00 – 1:30 pm | Honor Awards and Special Recognition Luncheon
Presenter: Anne-Sophie Brocard, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), SM(NRCM), CHMM, CSP, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX
Session 17 | Richard Knudsen Award
1:30 – 1:50 pm Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
1:50 – 2:00 pm Q&A Session
Session 18 | High Risk, Crucial Mitigation
2:00 – 2:15 pm Strengthening Institutional Dual-use Research Oversight Through a Hybrid Capacity Building Model in Egypt
Ali Asy, PhD, Animal Health Research Institute, Benha, Egypt
DURC capacity building can yield measurable knowledge gains, expose governance gaps, and drive institutional progress and by blending national reach with practical outputs, it offers a scalable path for responsible research stewardship in Egypt and beyond.
2:15 – 2:30 pm Implementing Safe and Effective H5N1 Poultry Research in BSL‑3 Facilities
Debra Howeth, MPH, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Establish a risk‑based framework for safely conducting HPAI research with chickens in BSL‑3 facilities, using comprehensive risk assessment, adapted containment, and tailored workflows to enhance biosafety readiness and strengthen avian influenza research capacity.
2:30 – 2:45 pm From Expansion to Governance Addressing Standardization Gaps in High-containment Laboratories in Brazil
Marco Horta, PhD, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation – Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rapid expansion of high-containment laboratories without harmonized governance and quality systems can compromise biosafety, biosecurity, and data reliability, underscoring the urgent need for national frameworks to ensure safe and standardized, and auditable operations.
2:45 – 3:00 pm Q&A Session
3:00 – 3:15 pm | Break
Session 19 | Approaches to Biorisk Management
3:15 – 3:35 pm Robert I. Gross Student Award
Dynamic Risk Assessments: A Mitigation Strategy for Biosafety and Biosecurity Risks
Bobbi Barr, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Measures will position DRA as a scalable and adaptive framework to strengthen biosafety and biosecurity in increasingly complex laboratory environments.
3:35 – 3:50 pm Demystifying ISO 35001: The Business Case for Biorisk Management
Michael Marsico, MS, Association of Public Health Laboratories, Bethesda, MD
Outline how to achieve leadership support towards ISO 35001 implementation, presenting a business case for why it’s valuable along with effective approaches in achieving implementation.
3:50 – 4:05 pm Operationalizing AI Biorisk Governance Using NIST AI RMF With PDCA Cycle
Judith Chukwuebinim Okolo, PhD, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Abuja, Nigeria
Integrate the NIST AI RMF with the PDCA cycle to provide a practical, scalable approach for managing AI-driven biological risks, strengthening biosafety systems, enabling continuous improvement, and supporting responsible innovation.
4:05 – 4:20 pm ISO 35001-based Regional Biorisk Management For Agricultural Research
Kenneth Shenge, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD
First demonstration of ISO 35001 implementation for regional agricultural research provides a replicable framework for complex biosafety system development and continuous improvement.
4:20 – 4:45 pm Q&A Session
4:45 pm | Close of Conference
Betsy Matos, PhD, CBSP(ABSA), Iowa State University, Ames, IA