Pre conference course H - Evaluating and Embedding Biosafety Skills: From Compliance towards Competence.
Instructors
Adam Stevenson (UK) and Heidi Auerswald (IT)
This highly interactive one-day course equips biosafety professionals, laboratory supervisors, and institutional trainers with practical tools to evaluate, strengthen, and embed biosafety competence beyond traditional tick-box training models. Participants will unpack the distinctions between, training, compliance, and competence, and work through hands-on methods to translate those insights into practice. Using a step-by-step improvement plan, each participant will identify key challenges in their home institution and design a 3-month roadmap for upgrading how competence is assessed, reinforced, and sustained. The course draws from ISO 35001, CWA 16335, ISO/TS 5441, and WHO LBM4, and links theoretical frameworks to actionable strategies: job safety analysis, SOP analysis, job specification evaluation, behavioural reinforcement, observation checklists, and building psychological safety. The course is especially valuable for institutions looking to strengthen internal competency frameworks, onboarding, or coaching programs.
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Adam Stevenson
Head of Health, Safety, and Environment, Sonic Healthcare UK
Over 18 years’ experience working as a health and safety professional. Have worked in both public and private sector environments and I have a firm conviction of the importance of safety in the laboratory environment. As well as been a chartered safety professional I am also a qualified trainer, accredited auditor, and chartered manager. I have developed variousorganisational strategiesfor health and safety management which extends to implementing approaches on human factorsin biosafety laboratories. Currently my day-to-day work involves providing pragmatic biosafety advice to fast throughput diagnostic pathology laboratories.
Academic Education and Degrees:
- MSc Health and Safety Risk Management
- NEBOSH Certificate & Diploma Occupational Health and Safety
- BSc (Hons) Applied Science and Forensic Measurement
- Level 5 Diploma Operations/Departmental Manager
- Level 3 Award & Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training
- Human Factors in Safety Critical Task Analysis
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Heidi Auerswald
Current position:
Expert for Biosafety, Laboratory Management, Diagnostic and Pathogenesis Studies of Infectious Diseases, Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell'Abruzzo e de Molise, Italy (since October 2024)
Educational qualifications:
- PhD (Dr. rer.net.), University of Hamburg, Germany (2016)
- Diploma in Biochemistry, Martin Luther University Halle -Wittenberg, Germany (2012)
- High School Degree (Abitu), Werner von Siemens Gymnasium Grossenhain, Germany (2006)
Experience:
Over 10 years of experience in biosafety, virology, high-containment lab operations, diagnostic development, and laboratory management.
- implementation ISO35001 and ISO 17025 systems; designing and delivering BSL3 training
- Supporting installation and operationalization of BSL3 facilities
- Former BSL3 Scientific Mangaer, Senior Scientist & Integrated Expert, and Postdoctoral Researcher at Institut Pasteur du Cambodge
Other information:
- Languages: German (native), english (C2), Italian (A1)
- Certifications: IFBA Biorisk Management (2025), ISO 35001 Awareness (2024), WOAH PVS Sustainable Laboratories Expert Training (2023)
Publications: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4717-7618