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BioNet will be hosting a Lunch Meeting this Friday, March 6th, 2026 from 11am to 1pm. The agenda for the meeting is focused on the topics in the following order: The Canadian Biosafety and Biosecurity Landscape Since Federal Legislation and Regulations, UK and EU Biosafety Regulatory Overview, ABSA 2026 initiatives, and NIH modernization survey results and BioNET statement (if time permits). Registration
AZBA Fall Meeting Thursday, September 25, 2025 9:50am Arizona time (currently Pacific Time): Join for welcome and socialize 10:00am – 12:00 pm: Speakers Join us on Zoom Cost – Free 9:50 - 10:00 Welcome and Socialize 10:00 - 10:30 Speaker: Irene Ruberto, PhD, MPH Vector-borne & Zoonotic Diseases (VBZD) & Mycotic Diseases Program Manager, Arizona Department of Health Services “Yersinia pestis in the High Desert: Understanding plague transmission in Northern Arizona” 10:30 - 11:00 Speaker: David Larsen, PhD, MPH Professor and Chair, Department of Public Health, Syracuse University “Environmental (wastewater) surveillance for polio following a paralytic case [...]
AZBA Spring Meeting Thursday, April 17, 2025 1:00 – 3:00 pm MST Join us on Zoom Cost – Free 1:00 - 1:10 Welcome and Board Updates - AZBA Board 1:10 - 1:40 Speaker: Ashley Wright Area Associate Agent, Livestock Cochise County Cooperative Extension 1:40 - 2:10 Speaker: Yan Zhang, DVM, PhD, DACVM Director, Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory 2:10 - 2:40 Speaker: Joseph Manfrida, PhD Senior Laboratory Chief of Safety, Security, Facilities and Responsible Official Arizona State Public Health Laboratory 2:40 - 3:00 Questions and Closing
Please join us for our virtual BioNet February Lunch Meeting on February 28th from 11am-1pm. Topics to be covered include: Serving the Biosafety Profession, University of Southern California (USC) Animal Research Safety Program, and Roundtable Discussion - Impact of the Recent Southern California Wildfires on Institutions in the Los Angeles Area.
Webinar summary: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a single-stranded RNA arenavirus commonly used in laboratory animal models to examine acute and chronic viral infections and immunopathology. However, there is wide variation in LCMV biosafety practices between institutions, based on differing interpretations of guidelines and risk data. This lack of consensus can pose a challenge to the biosafety professional who may be evaluating LCMV use at their facility. The first part of this presentation will compare the two most common laboratory strains of LCMV, demonstrate the variation in biosafety policy between institutions, and discuss one institution’s recent approach to navigating [...]
This course will cover critical differences between the “normal” laboratory risk assessment process (as outlined in the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL)) and the more holistic agricultural risk assessment process that is required to focus on both worker health and safety as well as release to the environment. Biocontainment is a part of all risk assessment processes and it becomes critically important to delineate it as a separate goal of risk mitigation strategies when working with agriculturally important agents, as they are not often highly hazardous to humans. Therefore, these agents are seen as “safe” when, in reality, [...]
Friday, February 17, 2023, from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM CDT 4V. BSL-3 Design and Operations: Lessons from the Trenches Matt Anderson, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA), University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NB Many academic institutions have built Biosafety Level 3 containment laboratories over the past 15 years, anticipating these facilities to be an instrument to attract researchers and stay on the cutting edge of science. Most of these labs have been successfully operated since construction while others have become dormant due to various factors ranging from poor initial design, construction issues, engineering flaws, lack of operational staff, lack of funding for the [...]
The course will provide a background overview and illustration of how containment facilities for plant research can be designed, constructed, and operated to meet various standards and guidelines. The standards will be based on those given by US agencies though international entities will also be referenced. Principles of plant diseases and the organisms that cause them will be discussed as well as an emphasis on the pathways that pathogens may disseminate to new areas and using diagnosis for early and accurate detection. Case studies will be used to give an overview of systems that protect cropping systems from plant diseases. [...]
Monday, October 3 and Friday, October 7, 2022, from 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM CDT 3V. Articulating the Value of Your Biosafety Program Robert Emery, DrPH, CBSP(ABSA), University of Texas Health Science Center—Houston, Houston, TX Scott Patlovich, DrPH, CBSP(ABSA), University of Texas Health Science Center—Houston, Houston, TX Kristen King, DrPH, CBSP(ABSA), University of Texas Health Science Center—Houston, Houston, TX A recurrent challenge confronting biosafety professionals is the ability to garner necessary program resources to achieve desired goals and objectives. The basis for this difficulty is that, on a good day in the world of biosafety, “nothing happens”. The underlying challenge [...]
Thursday, September 29, 2022, from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM CDT 5V. Laboratory Transition: Planning for the Inevitability of Change Lauren Richardson, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Merrick & Company, Greenwood Village, CO Ryan Gregory, P.Eng, CxA, Merrick & Company, Greenwood Village, CO Aurel Tamburri, MHM, D.OHS, CRSP, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Life sciences facilities are expensive and require long timelines for facility change. The last few years have emphasized the importance of adaptable, flexible solutions to accommodate changing needs for laboratory operations. Everyone has experienced the trials of transition during the global COVID-19 pandemic. A changing environment necessitates rapid [...]
Monday, September 12, and Wednesday, September 14, 2022, from 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM CDT 1V. Animal Research for Biosafety Professionals – An Introduction Susan Harper, DVM, DACLAM, DACVPM, RBP(ABSA), NIH—Office of Animal Care and Use, Bethesda, MD Lesley Colby, DVM, DACLAM, University of Washington, Seattle, WA Animal Research has contributed to major scientific advances in biomedical, veterinary, and environmental sciences and in public health. However, these efforts often pose significant risks to the health and safety of research and facility staff due to the wide range of species, complex experimental procedures and equipment, and facility hazards that are involved. [...]
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