Past events & courses

Instructor Matthias Bittner The course explains why the standard for microbiological safety cabinets (BSCs) EN12469:2000 needed updating. How the European standards group came into being for the review. How such an international group operates. The renewed European standard EN12469:2025 is presented, along with its main features and published parts. It details the changes to performance criteria, their testing and the servicing of the devices. It also explains what to look out for when purchasing, installing and routinely maintaining BSCs.

In spring 2024, the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, published the technical specification ISO/TS5441:2024 Competence Requirements for Biorisk Management Advisors (BMA). ISO/TS5441 compiles all information on required knowledge, skills and experience a biorisk management advisor should have to provide competent advice to an organization under a given context, that is, based on the types of activities with biological material and their risk. ISO/TS5441 helps you to demonstrate and update your competence and it supports organization on how to define their competence need and how to choose a BMA. ISO/TS5441 has been designed by biosafety experts from different countries around the globe based on consensus, thus being a truly international specification. The course will inform BMA of all degree of expertise and fields of activities on how ISO/TS5441 supports biorisk management advice activities. ISO/TS5441 can be purchased from national standardization organisations.  The document cannot be shared as proprietary. However, this is not a prerequisite for attending the course.

This online course is designed to provide attendees with a basic knowledge and requirements to complete risk assessments of laboratory activities.

A 2,5 hour online course (including a break and question session) Instructor: Dominic Muyldermans Description: The principles of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) were first recognised under the Convention on Biological Diversity, refined in the Nagoya Protocol and are further implemented in national ABS laws. In EU an additional compliance regulation applies.

Instructors: Adam Stevenson and Wendy ShellAim: To be aware of human factors and how to take account of such in a laboratory or in vivo containment facility.

There are a variety of investigational human and veterinary medicinal products consisting of or containing GMOs. GMOs for human medicines may include the following: human cells modified ex vivo; vaccines; recombinant virus-based vectors, including those containing genome editing nucleic acid sequences (which may also be delivered non-virally) and bacterial vectors.Medicinal products based onmRNA are on the rise. One need to define which constructs are still GMOs or not, which constructs are less or more hazardous than the wildtype virus, they are derived from, and which might serve as agent to harm others. How are people and the environment protected when they are widely used, also outside controlled laboratory settings. There is guidance and regulation. Which ones to apply is the one hundred Euroquestions.

The role of a biosafety professional (BSP) within an institution is a challenging position. In addition, a BSP very often plays the interface between different activities within a facility including animal handling, engineering, maintenance and cleaning.

Essential elements of and metholodolgies to perform risk assessment Assessing the risk of biological materials (microorganisms, cells, tissues) Evaluating the risk of procedures/activities Defining measures to control/minimize the risk (containment, GMT, PPE, training)

The application of appropriate decontamination methods is the key element in reducing surface contamination in the laboratory to prevent laboratory-acquired infections and cross contamination in the laboratory.