Pre conference course G - BSO Hard Skills: How do you know what you need to know? - Instructors

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Pre conference course G - BSO Hard Skills: How do you know what you need to know?

Tuesday, 02 June 2026 09:00 - Tuesday, 02 June 2026 17:00 (CET) EBSA , course , preconference

About the speakers

  1. Chris Pirson

    Chris Pirson

    Current Position
    Health, Safety and Biological Risk Manager at APHA Llandrindod, UK

    Educational qualifications

    • PhD Infectious Disease Immunology
    • MSc Medical Microbiology
    • DipHE Biomedical Science

    Experience

    Dr Chris Pirson has more than 20 years’ experience working with biological hazards. After completing an MSc in Medical Microbiology, Chris spent time working for the Home Office, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and Public Health England on CBR emergency response and detection. Chris completed his doctorate and moved into the private sector working as a senior researcher on novel immunotherapeutic drugs with applications in oncology, infectious, and autoimmune diseases. Transitioning away from lab work during this time to oversee the building and development of new high level containment facilities for handling dangerous pathogens, Chris became the biological safety lead for the company. Since then, he has managed several high containment facilities and been a biorisk advisor in academia, industry, and government.

    Chris is a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science, an accredited Biosafety Practitioner, and a qualified Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor. He is also the current honorary secretary of the Institute of Safety in Technology and Research.

  2. Wendy Shell

    Wendy Shell

    Bio Risk Officer | AGES – Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit GmbH), Mödling, Austria

    Wendy Shell, CMIOSH MISTR BSc (Hons) MSc has over 12 years’ experience working as a Biosafety, Biosecurity and Bio Risk expert, as well as being a chartered health and safety professional. She has worked in this field, predominantly in the Government laboratory sector, in both the UK and in Austria. She was responsible for the development and implementation of human factors analysis in BSL3 and BSL4 in vivo and in vitro facilities as well as the incorporation of these into routine laboratory risk assessment and accident investigations. She has developed and delivered numerous biosafety and biosecurity training courses in the UK, Europe and Internationally. Currently she is the Bio Risk Officer at the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (business area Animal Health), with biorisk management responsibilities in diagnostic and research laboratories ranging from BSL2 to BSL3+ (BLS3Ag).

    Academic Education and Degrees
    MSc: Virology
    BSc (Hons): Zoology
    NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety (Distinction)