Speakers at Biological Risk Assessment – How safe are we in our labs if we apply the risk based approach according to the new WHO Biosafety Manual?
Biological Risk Assessment – How safe are we in our labs if we apply the risk based approach according to the new WHO Biosafety Manual?
About the speakers
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Heather Sheeley
Heather Sheeley BA(Hons), MSc, FISTR has more than 40 years of experience in laboratory research and health and safety across government, private and academic environments. Working internationally, she has an interest in sustainable and effective safety solutions to protect employees and communities. Her work in complex and high risk environments using various risk assessment methods and safe solutions. She is a recognised trainer and presenter on topics especially related to biosafety and sustainable laboratory design. She has publications in journals and books and contributed to many international laboratory safety manuals, standards and guidance documents. She is a former President of the European Biosafety Association, former Chair of the Institute of Safety in Technology and Research and Elected Fellow. Projects and activities include work with OIE, WHO and ISO. Currently an independent consultant on biorisk related projects.
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Kathrin Summermatter
Academic Education and DegreesPhD in BiologyPresent Professional PositionHead of Biosafety CenterManaging Director of the Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory, Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Berne, SwitzerlandThe Institute for Infectious Diseases of the University of Bern combines diagnostics, teaching and research under one roof and covers the entire spectrum of microbiological diagnostics.Kathrin Summermatter is heading the Biosafety Center of the Institute for Infectious Diseases of the University of Bern, Switzerland. She is also the managing director of the BSL3 at the Institute for Infectious Diseases and sitem-insel. She has been involved in Biosafety for more than 20 years. From 2002 -2019 she was the head of the biosafety department and the deputy director of the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI), the Swiss reference lab for highly contagious animal diseases (Biosafety Level 3 and 3Ag Laboratories). In addition, she was the coordinator of BIOSAFETY-Europe. She has been a long-standing member of the European Biosafety Association (EBSA) and the American Biosafety Association (ABSA). In 2003/2004 she was the president of EBSA. She is a member of the International Veterinary Biosafety Workgroup and a board member of the Swiss Biosafety Network (SBNet). She is the chair of the Technical Advisory Biosafety Board (TAG-B) of the WHO and a member of the WHO's Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). She is also the director of the WHO-Collaborating Center for Biosafety and Biosecurity.