Weathering the Storm: EBSA at ABSA 2026
EBSA President Pat Casey represented EBSA at ABSA International's 69th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Conference, held in Mobile, Alabama, from 10 to 14 October. Hurricane Isaias did its best to keep him away, but the science, the conversations and the partnerships made the trip thoroughly worthwhile.
An unscheduled stopover
Pat's journey to Mobile came with an unexpected feature: two unplanned days in Atlanta, courtesy of Hurricane Isaias. The storm came ashore on the Gulf Coast near Mobile on the eve of the conference, playing havoc with flights in the region.
For a biosafety professional, being held up in Atlanta, home of the CDC, has a certain irony. Happily, no escalation of containment level was required – just patience, good humour and a dynamic risk assessment of the onward itinerary.
Science and conversation
The conference itself more than repaid the effort. ABSA delivered an excellent scientific programme, with strong sessions across the full breadth of biosafety and biosecurity. There was plenty for European colleagues to take home.
The networking was every bit as good. Corridor conversations, coffee-break chats and evening events meant time well spent with old friends and new colleagues from across the global biosafety community.
Applied Biosafety: EBSA special issue on track
Wearing his editorial board hat, Pat held detailed discussions about Applied Biosafety with Karen Byers, Barbara Johnson and Sumit Ghosh. The headline news: the EBSA special issue is looking good and is expected to be complete well before its March 2027 deadline. Members planning a contribution would be wise not to leave it until the last minute!
Strengthening international partnerships
International relationships were a major focus of the trip. EBSA took part in international partners’ meetings with the ABSA Council and colleagues from around the world. Around the table were Claudio Mafra from the Brazilian Society of Biosafety and Biosecurity, 
Luis Ochoa of AMexBio (Mexico), Brett Cole of ABSANZ (Australia and New Zealand) and Tom Walus of CABS-ACSB (Canada).
Pat also had productive talks with ABSA's new President, Betsy Matos, and President-Elect Antony Schwartz. These conversations build on the strong relationship between EBSA and ABSA International.
Looking ahead
Above all, the trip produced lots of useful conversations and a wealth of topics for future collaboration. EBSA looks forward to developing these with ABSA and our partners across the world in the months ahead.