Program

Tuesday 24 November 2020 

Bringing biosafety to the community 

11:00am - 11:20am

Welcome to Country (not available on-demand)

ABSANZ Welcome

11:20am - 12:50pm

Community biosafety – challenges and triumphs

Plenary session with Q&A (live)

Dr Norman Swan, Health Journalist, Broadcaster and Commentator (Australia)

Prof Ian Town , Chief Science Advisor, Ministry of Health (New Zealand)

Prof Catherine Bennett, Chair in Epidemiology, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University (Australia)

Prof Vitali Sintchenko, Director, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology- Public Health, The University of Sydney and NSW Health Pathology (Australia)

12:50pm - 1:00pm

Break and Virtual Exhibition Viewing

1:00pm - 1:50pm

How ABSANZ can bring biosafety to the community

Interactive session with Q&A (live)

Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan, Executive Director of Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center, ISAAA (Malaysia)

Dr Heather Bray, Lecturer in Science Communication, University of Western Australia (Australia)

1:50pm - 2:00pm

Wrap Up

2:00pm - 3:00pm

Break and Virtual Exhibition Viewing

Available anytime

Webinars

A day in the life of COVID-19 test swab

George Taiaroa, Research Fellow - Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne (Australia)

Behind the scenes: High containment facility tour

Andrew Hill, Team Leader Biorisk Management, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (Australia)

PC4 Behind the scenes: High containment facility tour

Shane Riddell, Biorisk Pathogen Specialist and PC4 Laboratory Manager, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (Australia)

Wednesday 25 November 2020 

Protecting our health 

11:00am - 11:10am

ABSANZ Welcome

11:10am - 12:40pm

Regulating outbreaks – how can regulation hinder and help in a crisis?

Plenary session with Q&A (live)

Dr Heidi Mitchell, Director of the Contained Dealings Evaluation Section, Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (Australia)

Derek Fitzgerald, Manager of Compliance, Medsafe (New Zealand)

Luke Johnson, Response Manager in the Incident Management Team, Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand)

Caroline Gibson, Director, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Australia)

12:40pm - 1:00pm

Break and Virtual Exhibition Viewing

1:00pm - 1:50pm

Crop and Animal Health: Biosecurity and challenges in developing countries

Interactive session with Q&A (live)

Dr Vasant L. Patil, Director – Science & Regulatory Affairs, CropLife Asia (Singapore)

Dr Angel Manabat, Technical and Health Assurance Director, Pig Improvement Company (Philippines)

Prof Subha Bhassu, Professor, University of Malaya (Malaysia)

1:50pm - 2:00pm

Wrap Up

2:00pm - 3:00pm

Break and Virtual Exhibition Viewing

Available anytime

Webinars

Biosafety in the clinical setting

Dr Julie Wang, Practice Principal, Whitehorse Medical Clinic (Australia)

Dr Rosie Gentle, Advanced GP Registrar, Whitehorse Medical Clinic (Australia)

Dr Amy Wang, GP Registrar, Whitehorse Medical Clinic (Australia)

Biosafety in the workplace

June Freeland, Manager, Research Infrastructure and Biosafety, Victoria University (Australia)

Thursday 26 November 2020 

Preparing for what’s next 

11:00am - 11:10am

ABSANZ Welcome

11:10am - 12:40pm

Hypothetical panel discussion 'What’s next?'

Plenary session (live)

(Facilitator) Dr Julian Druce, Head of Virus Identification, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (Australia)

Dr Norman Swan, Health Journalist, Broadcaster and Commentator (Australia)

Dr Robert Ellis, University Director Biosafety Emeritus, Colorado State University Department of Microbiology Emeritus (United States)

Prof Trevor Drew, Director, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (Australia)

12:40pm - 1:00pm

Break and Virtual Exhibition Viewing

1:00pm - 1:50pm

Designing the future of containment

Interactive session with Q&A (live)

Stephen Coulter, Director, Coulter Advisory (Australia)

Richard Sale, Senior Laboratory Architect, Conrad Gargett (Australia)

1:50pm - 2:00pm

Wrap Up and Close

2:00pm - 3:00pm

Break and Virtual Exhibition Viewing

Available anytime

Webinars

What’s next in terms of changing people's behaviour

Sean Kaufman, CEO, Safer Behaviors (United States)

Measuring COVID-19 and antibiotic resistant bacteria in sewerage and the implications of finding them

Prof Erica Donner, Research Leader, University of South Australia (Australia)

Dr Barbara Drigo, Research Fellow, University of South Australia (Australia)

Decontamination of workplaces. Services for biocleaning

Brett Cole, Managing Director, BioSafety (Australia)