ABSA Update – February 2026

Dear Colleagues,

It is a true honor to step into the role of President of ABSA International and to continue the remarkable work and accomplishments of those who served before me. Thank you all for the trust you have placed in me. I look forward to working closely with our team leads, committee chairs, and the broader membership to support both our profession and our community.

During the 68th Annual Conference in 2025, we hosted an exceptional lineup of preconference courses and presenters, along with 524 attendees (in-person and virtual) and 58 vendors, an outstanding achievement, especially during challenging times.

For more than 70 years, the biosafety and biosecurity community has played a pivotal role in fostering a culture of responsibility and in shaping safe practices and evidence-based biosafety/biosecurity guidelines grounded in shared knowledge, practical experience, and sound scientific data. These efforts continue to support the advancement of research worldwide.

As we know all too well, infectious agents recognize no boundaries, and neither does our profession. As science and research have evolved, so has our expertise, enabling us to safeguard researchers, the public, and the environment.

The past several years has tested us both professionally and personally, and together we have prevailed. The coming year will undoubtedly bring new challenges, but with challenge comes resilience and renewed strength.

Our membership and network of experts have recently been called upon to serve as partners in the development phase of the NIH Biosafety Modernization Initiative, an unprecedented opportunity. I want us to acknowledge the significance of this moment. Through the dedication of past leadership and the commitment of our members, ABSA International and biosafety/biosecurity professionals are increasingly recognized as global leaders in advancing best practices and cultivating a culture of responsibility that supports the future of global research.

I encourage all members to work closely with their researchers and institutional leadership to fully engage with and respond to the NIH initiative.

This year, we will continue strengthening ABSA International’s relationships with our alliances, affiliates, and partners, cultivating a robust network of experts and opportunities for our membership. Council will also continue advancing our strategic goals and addressing our mega-issues. To support our members’ ongoing development, we will maintain a strong portfolio of webinars and on-demand courses between conferences. Please visit the Professional Development webpage for details on upcoming training opportunities.

Howspace remains a valuable platform for focused discussions on a wide range of topics. I encourage everyone to participate in the poll related to the NIH modernization initiative.

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all our volunteers for their hard work, dedication, and generosity of time, despite demanding professional and personal schedules. Our association simply could not thrive without you. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit the Get Involved page on our website to view the list of committees in need of additional support.

I would also like to thank the ABSA Office staff for their unwavering commitment to keeping the association moving forward and helping us stay organized and on schedule.

I look forward to seeing you all virtually at the 4th Biosecurity Virtual Symposium on May 12-13, 2026.

Warmest Regards,

Anne-Sophie Brocard, PhD, RBP(ABSA), CBSP(ABSA)
ABSA International President

Chair: John Balog
Vice Chair: Bob Hawley

Historical Committee is merging with the Awards Committee. The committee’s new name and P&Ps are under review.

Chair: Niki Drazenovich
Vice Chair: Dana Buckley

ABSA members currently have 17 quizzes available online for CM points and an additional quiz in development covering volume 29 of the Applied Biosafety Journal. These quizzes are low cost and can be located on the website at https://absa.org/online-education/.

Chairs: Eric Lewis
Vice Chairs: Ericka Pearce, Endah Sulistijo, and Nicole Drumhiller

The Distance Learning Committee completed eleven webinars in 2025, plus a 2-part webinar that began in 2025 and will conclude in early 2026. In total, these 12 webinars reached more than 560 participants. Additional webinars are scheduled for 2026, covering topics such as arthropod biosafety and an introductory course on flow cytometry biosafety.

For more information on this module and the many webinars available, please visit https://absa.org/online-education/. Course lists are updated routinely.

We encourage you to invite your colleagues, nonmembers, or other professionals to attend. If you are interested in teaching a course, know a subject matter expert in a relevant field, or have general comments to share with the Distance Learning Committee, please contact the ABSA office at education@absa.org. We welcome your involvement and feedback.

Treasurer: James Henry, Jr.
Vice Chair: Heather Blair and Andrea Vogel

The Finance Committee has been busy this quarter. The committee reviewed the 2026 budget requests from the committees and the proposed 2026 ABSA budget. The ABSA Treasurer Report for 2024 was presented to the ABSA membership, and the Treasurer position transitioned from Heather Blair to James Henry. The Vice Chairs are now Heather Blair and Andrea Vogel. The committee is also in the process of reviewing the Finance Committee Policies and Procedures, and the Treasurer has developed. “ABSA’s Long-Term Financial Stability and Reserve Preservation Plan,” which is currently being proposed to the ABSA Executive Committee and ABSA Council for review and next steps.

Chair: Enitra Jones Sprouse
Vice Chairs: Ryan Burnette and Mary Turlington Powell

Preparations for the 4th Biosecurity Virtual Symposium are well underway. The Steering Committee has identified a keynote speaker and continues to finalize an engaging lineup of invited speakers for this premier event, scheduled for May 12-13, 2026. As always, suggestions for engaging topics, potential speakers, and feedback from past symposia are welcomed and appreciated. Please send comments to education@absa.org with the subject line “BSSC Feedback.”

Chair: Natasha Griffith
Vice Chair: Shamsul Arfin Qasmi

The International Engagement Committee (IEC) has made significant progress this year in advancing global biosafety initiatives:

• Developed a comprehensive scholarship proposal submitted for council approval, aiming to support professional development and broaden access to biosafety training.
• Updated and formalized the committee’s Policies & Procedures (P&P), enhancing operational effectiveness through more straightforward guidelines.
• Hosted an in-person meeting at the 68th Annual Biosafety Conference, facilitating collaboration and strategic planning among IEC members.
• Expanded international engagement by adding new members to the IEC, diversifying perspectives, and strengthening the committee’s global reach.

Future Planning (Next Year’s Goals):

• Some of our goals for next year are to initiate a survey to evaluate IEC activities’ impact on ABSA and its members, ensuring alignment with organizational needs and supporting worldwide influence.
• Structuring to launch the IEC Regional Ambassadors Program, empowering committee members, and advisors to promote ABSA’s mission in their respective regions, with the approval of the council.
• To increase participation, we are considering a Biosafety Hero Award to honor outstanding biosafety champions in low- and middle-income countries, with recognition presented at the ABSA conference.
• A dedicated IEC section on the ABSA website, providing a central hub for activity updates and strengthening affiliate connections.

Chair: Kalpana Patel
Vice Chair: Katherine Kasper

Member Resources Committee hosted the New Member Reception at the 2025 ABSA International Annual Conference held in Raleigh, North Carolina. New members and first meeting attendees had a chance to meet and mingle. MRC provided interactive Biosafety Bingo and raffle surprises. Biosafety Bingo required a search for answers from ABSA members thus expanding the new member network.

We would also like to thank Dee Zimmerman for her past leadership of the MRC and continuing guidance and support of the Chairs.

Vice Chairs: Kim DiGiandomenico and Heidi Page

Members of the CMB participated in the live Q&A during the ABSA Conference to assist with questions regarding what can/cannot be accepted for points. CMB provided to the Q&A session attendees, a list of free and low-cost CM activities along with the link to the webinar titled “Maintaining Your ABSA Credentials” for their viewing. Each CM application undergoes a comprehensive review of agendas, presentations, courses, modules, and recordings to assess biosafety content for CM points.

Chair: Geoffrey Phillips
Vice Chair: Raymond Scheetz

The 2025 group of virtual and in-person courses provided ABSA members with a great selection of current biosafety topics. The cooperation between all preconference course committee members, the course instructors, course participants, and ABSA educational personnel worked closely together to continue to enhance the organization. The Call for Course Proposals for the 69th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Conference is now open. Visit www.absaconference.org/cfp for submission information. The deadline for course proposals is March 13, 2026.

Chair: James Pharr
Vice Chair: Amanda Haley

The E-Comm sets up the selfie booth at the annual conference as a fun and interactive way for attendees to bring visibility to and promote the biosafety profession by sharing on social media using the conference hashtag. The ABSA blog was identified as an underutilized resource, both to provide bite-size biosafety info to the ABSA community and allow members an opportunity to gain some CM points for contributing. The E-comm Committee submitted a blog entry outlining opportunities to earn CM points and has been working with the webmaster to update/improve the submission flow, as well as addressing proper citing of photos/AI-generated images submitted for publishing to the website.

Chair: Joe Kozlovac
Vice Chair: Heather Blair

The Exam Development Board (EDB) has evaluated exam questions identified in the item pool for review due to exam performance issues. The board based upon that review made corrections, retired questions as needed and developed new replacement questions for the various exam domains. This role ensures the quality of the exam and strengthens the value of the credential.

The EDB is in the process of reviewing its Policies and Procedures document. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. David Harbourt’s service as Vice Chair and welcome Heather Blair as the EDB Vice Chair.

Chair: Robin Tobias
Vice Chair: Daniela Didier

The Public Relations and Marketing Committee merged with the Ambassadors Committee in 2024. In the upcoming year, the committee will focus on incorporating more Ambassador tasks into our efforts. We will continue to plan and promote Biosafety and Biosecurity Month for October 2026. Several of us were able to meet in-person at the ABSA Conference in Raleigh and brainstorm some project ideas, and we look forward to seeing some of those materialize soon.

Chair: Amy Ryan

The Bylaws Committee continues to edit and review the Policies & Procedures of various teams and committees. One P&P was reviewed since the last report. The committee asks that all teams and committees perform an annual review and submit any changes to the ABSA Office. The office staff will forward the changes to the committee for review and approval.

Chair: Colleen Kovacsics
Vice Chairs: Sunny Hoffman and Susan Vleck

The SPC spent the last quarter finalizing details for the annual conference, including last-minute adjustments to the schedule due to speaker availability. We were excited to offer a new session, poster speed talks, to drive engagement. We continued to offer two invited speakers as well as concurrent sessions, to bring to conference a breadth and depth of topics. The Call for Papers for the 69th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Conference is now open. Visit www.absaconference.org/cfp for submission information. The deadline for platform and poster abstracts is March 30, 2026.

Chair: Susan Harper
Vice Chair: Kenneth Shenge

Key accomplishments for the EIDC this quarter included maintaining and routinely updating toolbox materials (15 modules), preparing and submitting a Risk Group Database update proposal to the ABSA Council, and presenting an OSHA‑requested poster on the Anniversary of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act at the 2025 ABSA Annual Conference, in collaboration with the ABSA Public Health Shared Interest Group and APHL.

Coeditors-in-Chief: Barbara Johnson and Karen Byers
Associate Editors: Scott Patlovich and Sumit Ghosh

The Editors of Applied Biosafety would like to thank David Gillum, who has stepped down from his role as Associate Editor of the journal, for his time and expertise over the years. David contributed significantly to the success of the journal and in 2024 and 2025 led the effort to publish a series of special issues in emergent technologies and related policies that pose current and future challenges in biosafety and biosecurity. We are proud to announce Sumit Ghosh has accepted our invitation to be the new Associate Editor.

For 2026, we are excited to have received many high-quality submissions for Volume 31, Number 2, which will be a Special Issue focused on innovative approaches, creative solutions, and best practices developed and used around the world for managing risks associated with the handling, use, and storage of infectious biological agents, toxins, and potentially infectious materials in research and clinical settings.

Additionally, the journal editors are soliciting manuscripts for two Special Issues, to be published in 2027.

The call for papers for the Special Issue (Volume 32, Number 2, 2027), “Safety Oversight for Novel Immunotherapies from Benchtop to Bedside” can be accessed at https://absa.org/apb/. This special issue will focus on examining the risks posed when conducting work with these therapeutic agents and proposed mitigation efforts. As work conducted in different settings may involve different risks, manuscripts may be focused specifically on settings to include research and development, pilot scale, GMP manufacturing, pharmacy, and clinic. The submission deadline for the 2027 Special Issue (Volume 32, Number 2) is November 1, 2026.

A second Special Issue (Volume 32, Number TBD, 2027) will be published in partnership with invited Guest Editors from the European Biological Safety Association. The call for papers will be advertised and posted on the Applied Biosafety website shortly.

Lead: Crystal Fortune
Vice Lead: Michael Marsico

Susan Harper and Eric Lundquist presented biosafety for veterinary laboratories for the annual AAVLD meeting held virtually on November 1, 2025. Highlighted information included sample shipping, and a reminder that animal pathogens can be extremely dangerous to humans. A recording of the presentation will be provided to the Training Resources Committee.

In collaboration with ABSA, APHL sponsored the webinar “How to Mitigate and Respond to Threats in the Laboratory,” presented by Alabama State Public Health Laboratory Director Sharon Massingale and SIG members Shoolah Escott and Channing Sheets. This well-received webinar reaching over 240 participants outlined how the use of basic biosecurity principles should be coupled with workplace violence (WPV) mitigation strategies to prevent and respond to WPV emergencies. Speakers discussed different scenarios and outlined how employees should develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence program to address threats and acts of violence in the workplace.

At the 68th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Conference, SIG members Shoolah Escott and Marion Downing participated in the poster speed-talk session and presented two SIG-developed posters. One poster focused on the impact of the Needlestick Protection Act, including examples of safety devices developed over the years. The other highlighted the fundamentals of mobile laboratories, considerations for use and best biosafety practices.

2026 Webinars:

• From Expertise to Influence: Public Relations, AI and Your Personal Brand – February 11
• 26BSS01 Agricultural Biosecurity: Protecting Animal Health, Public Health, and the Environment - April 21, 2026
• 26BSS02 The Intersection of Cyberbiosecurity with Quality and Safety Management Systems - April 9, 2026 and April 30, 2026
• 03 Arthropod Biosafety – Ticks - June 5, 2026
• 04 Fundamentals of Microbiology – April 16 & 23, 2026
• 05 Concepts of Virology – May 14 & 21, 2026
• 06 Molecular Biology 101 - June 10 & 17, 2026
• 07 Large-scale Biosafety – July 15 & 22, 2026
• 08 Virus-based Gene Transfer Vectors – August 13 & 20, 2026

Recordings Available for Limited Time:

• 68th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Hybrid Conference
• USDA ARS 8th International Biosafety & Biocontainment Symposium: Addressing Agricultural Biorisk
• 8V Host-Pathogen Interactions for Biosafety Professionals
• Intro to Biosafety in the Clinical Setting
• 9V Keeping it Going: Maintaining and Improving a Select Agent Program Over the Long Term
• 10V Infectious Substance Shipping Program Management
• From Message to Impact: Using AI to Improve Biosafety Communication
• Plant & Insect Permit Pathways: Navigating the Regulatory Maze from MTA and EPA
• Intro to Flow Cytometry Biosafety – January 21 and 28
• Plant & Insect Permit Pathways: Navigating the Regulatory Maze from MTA to EPA – January 29 (2nd portion of course)

On-demand Modules:

• Advanced Biosafety Training Series
• Biosafety Cabinet Basics
• Basic Disinfection
• Basic Biosafety
• ABSA Learning Verification Opportunities

For questions related to courses, please email education@absa.org.
For additional courses and events, please visit ABSA International’s calendar.

Thanks to the Public Relations/Marketing Committee, ABSA has promotional videos for ABSA and our ABSA Conference. The videos can be found on the ABSA website and on ABSA International’s YouTube channel at. Also, ABSA’s YouTube channel has video interviews of conference presenters and keynotes. Feel free to share the video, use it in presentations, or link to it from your websites.

Through Member Clicks, not only can you access the Members’ Directory; you can update your contact information under the “My Information” link; view events you have registered for under “My Events”; access your educational credits under the “My Professional Development” link; and print a copy of past invoices under “My Transactions.” You can also purchase ABSA International publications, shirts, and other products.

The Job Board allows employers to connect with biosafety and biosecurity professionals and has opportunities available to continue to advance their career. Employers who post a position will gain access to some of the top professionals in the biosafety and biosecurity field. If you would like to post to the Job Board or find out more about the opportunities, visit the ABSA Job Board page.

The Anthology of Biosafety series is now available at no cost to ABSA members!
The 14-book series published between 1999 and 2015 addresses biosafety in different settings:

I: Perspectives on Laboratory Design
II: Facility Design Considerations
III: Application of Principles
IV: Issues in Public Health
V: BSL-4 Laboratories
VI: Arthropod Borne Diseases
VII: Biosafety Level 3
VIII: Evolving Issues in Containment
IX: Exploring the Performance Envelope for BSL-3 and BSL-4 Laboratories
X: Animal Biosafety
XI: Worker Health and Safety Issues
XII: Managing Challenges for Safe Operations of BSL-3/ABSL-3 Facilities
XIII: Animal Production and Protection – Challenges, Risks, and Best Practices
XIV: Sustainability

ABSA Members must be signed in to download individual chapters of interest. Click here for more information.

In alignment with our core organizational values, ABSA International (ABSA) encourages positive connections between biosafety professionals, scientists, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the public. It is our organization's policy to administer all activities without discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital/familial status, and veteran status. These practices extend to all aspects of ABSA’s activities and to all roles within the association (e.g., member, ambassador, employee, mentor, sponsor, and vendor).

ABSA International is committed to providing an environment that encourages the free expression and the exchange of scientific ideas and promotes respectful treatment for all participants. All members are expected to treat others with respect and consideration and follow ABSA International policies. ABSA International prohibits and will not tolerate any form of harassment or bullying. Harassment is unwanted and unwelcome attention or other conduct that creates an environment where a reasonable person would feel unwelcome, intimidated, excluded, or abused. Harassment based on gender, race, religion, national origin, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, political affiliation, or any other personal characteristic is strictly prohibited. Bullying is repeated behavior that intentionally harms, intimidates, or humiliates an individual. This policy applies to all ABSA International members and guests at ABSA International sponsored activities, events, and on all ABSA International platforms. If a member experiences or witnesses’ harassment or bullying, the individual should contact ABSA International staff as soon as possible. All complaints are taken seriously, will be responded to promptly, and handled confidentially to the extent possible. Upon receipt of a complaint, ABSA International will investigate through appropriate channels. If the complaint is found valid, resolution may include restricting the individual from participating in ABSA International sponsored activities or events and on all ABSA International platforms or revoking membership. Providing false information about a harassment or bullying situation can lead to disciplinary action by ABSA International, similar to the consequences for the actual offense. ABSA International expressly forbids any retaliation against individuals for reporting harassment or bullying.