Speakers at Pre conference course G. (Bio)containment of GM plants - from Green Houses to Field Trials (1 ½ day, afternoon 17.05, 18.05)
Pre conference course G. (Bio)containment of GM plants - from Green Houses to Field Trials (1 ½ day, afternoon 17.05, 18.05)
About the speakers
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Delphine Beeckman
Academic Education and Degrees
- Bio-Engineer in Cell and Gene Biotechnology, Master in Bioscience Engineering: Cell and Gene Biotechnology, Ghent University, Belgium (2005)
- Laboratory Animal Science: FELASA Cat. B and C (2006)
- PhD in Applied Biological Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology, Ghent University, Belgium (2009)
- Environmental Coordinator type A (2014)
Present Professional Position- Global Biosafety Manager
- Expert – Global Regulatory Affairs, Global Biosafety
at BASF Belgium Coordination Center, Innovation Center Gent, Belgium
Special Remarks
- Conference Programming Work Group EBSA 2013-2024
- Head of Local Organizing Committee EBSA 2014
- Belgian Biosafety Professionals (BBP) President 2015-2018
- EBSA Treasurer and Council member 2024-xxx
- ISBR 2025 Local Organizing Committee
Over 15 years of experience in Biosafety, focusing on the use of regulated and non-regulated biological materials in containment (e.g. labs, greenhouses, animal facilities), obtaining permits, performing risk assessments, following up on developments in legislation for different types of biological materials and implementing Biorisk Management Systems.
Experience in document management systems, process and procedure optimization, and integrated management systems (combining environment, biorisk, health and safety and quality standards developed according to the ISO High Level Structure).
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René Custers
Academic Education and Degrees
Msc in molecular sciences, Wageningen university, The Netherlands
Present Professional Position
René Custers is regulatory & responsible research manager at VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology), Belgium. He has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory affairs, biosafety, and the societal and ethical aspects of modern biotechnology. He is an expert in the legislation and safety of GMOs and genome edited organisms and has been very active in the European debate on the regulatory status of genome edited organisms. At VIB he coordinates the institutes’ policies on regulatory compliance, (bio)safety, ethics and integrity. He is also involved in science communication activities to a wider audience. He is a member of the Belgian Biosafety Advisory Council, and member of the board of EU-SAGE (European Sustainable Agriculture through Genome Editing).