Speakers at EBSA Conference 2024 and Preconference courses

Clara Posthuma studied biology at the University of Groningen (Netherlands), and graduated in Molecular Biology. After obtaining her PhD at the University of Amsterdam in 2001, she worked for many years at the Leiden University Medical Center as postdoc and senior researcher in molecular virology. During this period, she worked on fundamental and applied research topics addressing various aspects of nidovirus replication. Amongst these were antiviral drug research against SARS- and MERS-CoV and  fundamental research on viral RNA replication, using reverse genetics, biochemistry and next generation sequencing. In 2019, Clara joined the secretariat of the Netherlands Commission on Genetic Modification (COGEM). COGEM advises the Dutch government on risks to human health and the environment of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), and informs the government of ethical and societal issues linked to genetic modification. As a scientific secretary, Clara coordinates the subcommittee of Medical and Veterinary Aspects.

Professional experience:
Currently a Co-Principal Investigator at Spiez Laboratory in Spiez, Switzerland with a focus on Henipavirus-host interactions and antivirals, as well as a Visiting Lecturer in Medical Virology at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík, Iceland. Previous positions include post-doctoral fellowships in respiratory toxicology (2017-2019) and virology (2016-2017) at the University of Bern.

Summary of research activities:
Dr. Jonsdottir's research activities span from developing in vitro culture systems for studying airway structure and function, focusing on the role of bronchial cells in fibrosis, to establishing transgenic organotypic airway cultures for respiratory virus research. She contributed to the initial characterization of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and has continued to contribute to identifying antivirals against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Her postdoctoral work in respiratory toxicology explored the effects of jet turbine exhaust on human airways using organotypic airway cultures. Currently, she investigates host responses to highly pathogenic viruses, focusing on Henipaviruses, and evaluates novel antiviral therapies and vaccines. Future goals include advancing three-dimensional cell culture systems for studying Henipavirus-host interactions and other highly pathogenic viruses.

Education:

• Doctorate in biology, 2016 - ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
  Thesis: Genetic modification of primary human airway epithelial cultures – a novel platform to study respiratory pathogens
• Master’s degree in biomedical sciences, 2012 – University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
  Thesis: Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in human lung epithelial cells • Bachelor’s degree in molecular biology, 2010 – University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Skills:

• Containment training at both BSL-3 and -4 levels
• Expertise in molecular virology, genetic modification techniques, antiviral research, cellular assays, three-dimensional cell culture, histology, etc
• Experience in diagnostic processes for viruses and bacteria
• Proficient in multiple languages - Icelandic, English, Norwegian (fluent), Danish, Swedish, German (intermediate)
• Strong communicator with a keen interest in dissemination of scientific information

• 2021-present: Reader in Politics and Global Public Health, QMUL
• 2021-present: Deputy Director, Centre for Public Health and Policy, QMUL
• 2019-present: Director, intercalated BSc Global Public Health programme, QMUL

• 2019-21: Senior Lecturer in Global Public Health, QMUL
• 2019-21: Director, MSc and MRes Global Public Health programme, QMUL
• 2016-19: Lecturer in Global Public Health at QMUL
• 2013-16: Teaching Fellow in International Development, School of Public Policy, UCL
• 2012-14: Research Associate, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge

• 2008-12: PhD, Department of Sociology, Cambridge University (passed with no corrections)
• 2007-08: MPhil in Modern Society and Global Transformation, Cambridge University (1st Class with Special commendation)
• 2005-07: MA in Global Studies, Freiburg University, KwaZulu-Natal University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (1.5 or “Very good”)
• 2001-04: BA in History, Nottingham University (1st Class)

• Jonathan Kennedy (2023): Pathogenesis: How germs made history. Penguin.
• Sunday Times, Amazon, Waterstones and Good Reads’ books of the year list for 2023; Washington Post, GQ Magazine, and Literary Hub's most anticipated books for 2023; Times and Financial Times’ best summer books 2023; and serialised on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.
• Reviewed in The Economist, Financial Times, Washington Post, Sunday Times, Times, Observer, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Irish Times, Irish Independent, Spectator, Times Literary Supplement, Nature, New Scientist, New Statesman, Atlantic, New Republic, New Yorker, Boston Globe, Wired, Sydney Morning Herald, Strait Times and Haaretz.
• Has been or will be translated into 14 languages: Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Estonian, Czech, Norwegian, and Dutch.

• David McCoy, Stephen Roberts, Salma Daoudi, Jonathan Kennedy, (2023): ‘Global Health Security and the Health-Security Nexus: Principles, Politics and Praxis.’ BMJ Global Health.
• Obichukwu Iwunna, Jonathan Kennedy, Andrew Harmer (2023): ‘Flexibly funding WHO? An analysis of its donors’ voluntary contributions.’ BMJ Global Health 8(4): e011232
• Jonathan Kennedy and David McCoy (2020): ‘Malaria Eradication’, Lancet 395(10233): e70.
• Jonathan Kennedy, David McCoy and Joseph Gafton (2020): ‘The International Arms Trade and Global Health’, in Solomon Benatar and Gillian Brock (eds.) Global Health: Ethical Challenges (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press): 182-194.
• Andrew Harmer and Jonathan Kennedy (2020): ‘International Development and Global Health’, in Colin McInnes, Kelly Lee and Jeremy Youde (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Global Health Politics (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press): 217-236.
• Jonathan Kennedy, Marian Abouzeid, Samer Jabbour and David McCoy (2019): ‘Militaries and global health,’ Lancet 394(10202): 916-917.
• Jonathan Kennedy (2019): ‘Populism and vaccine hesitancy in Europe: An analysis of national level data,’ European Journal of Public Health 29(3):512-16.
• Jonathan Kennedy, Andrew Harmer and David McCoy (2017): ‘The political determinants of the cholera outbreak in Yemen’, Lancet Global Health 5(11): e970-71.
• Jonathan Kennedy and Domna Michailidou (2017): ‘Divergent policy responses to increasing vaccine scepticism in southern Europe’, Lancet Infectious Diseases 17(9): 900.
• Jonathan Kennedy and David McCoy (2017): ‘The WHO and the health crisis among the Rohingya people of Myanmar’, Lancet 389(10071): 802-803.
• Jonathan Kennedy (2017): ‘How Drone Strikes and a Fake Vaccination Program Inhibited Polio Eradication in Pakistan’, International Journal of Health Services 47(4): 807-825.
• Keertichandra Rajan, Jonathan Kennedy and Lawrence King (2013): ‘Is Wealthier Always Healthier in Poor Countries? The Health Effects of Income, Inequality, Poverty, and Literacy in India,’ Social Science and Medicine 88: 98-107.
  
  
• For a complete list of my publications see here.

• Centre for Public Interest Communications and the United Nations Verified initiative (2020). A practitioner’s guide to the principles of COVID-19 vaccine communications. (Named contributor)
• Kristi Arthur, Jonathan Kennedy and Anubha Prakash (2007): ‘A Case Study of the Community Monitoring Project: Raichur District, Northern Karnataka,’ UNICEF India Working Paper.

• 2020-24: ESRC/LISS-DTP, Global Health Governance in Syria and Yemen (£120,000, PhD studentship for Aida Hassan)
• 2019: Butterfield Award for Research on Japan (£3,600, PI)
• 2018-19: QMUL Global Challenges Research Fund Internal Networking Grant for building links with American University of Beirut (£12,000, PI = David McCoy)
• 2018: London Bridge Terror Attack Response Evaluation (£13,000, Co-PI)
• 2015: UCL Grand Challenges grant to cover fieldwork costs in Syria and Pakistan for project looking at public health provision in countries affected by civil war (£5,000, PI)
• 2014: Cambridge University Philomothia Social Sciences Research Grant to employ a research assistant to help collect data for project on farmers’ suicides in India (£1,000, PI)

• US-UK Fulbright Commission’s Global Challenges Teaching Award 2022-23. One of 3 UK based winners. For developing a virtual exchange between global public health students and pre-med students at UC Santa Cruz focused on the theme of pandemics.
• QMUL ‘President and Principal’s Prize’ for development of the virtual exchange. With Danielle Thibodeau of QM Academy and Ceri Bevan of QM Global Opportunities Office in 2023.
• I currently teach modules on ‘Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Health’ (MSc) and ‘Global Health, International Law and Governance’ (levels 6 and 7).

• I have written on politics and health op-eds for a variety of media outlets including The Guardian, London Review of Books, Readers Digest, Al Jazeera, El Pais, Les Echos, Project Syndicate, and Politico.
• I have given TV interviews for CNN, BBC World TV, and Al Jazeera, and radio interviews for BBC Radio 4’s World at One, The World Tonight, and Inside Science, RTE Radio 1’s Ray D’Arcy Show, RNZ’s Saturday Mornings with Kim Hill, CBC’s Sunday Magazine, Public Radio International’s The World, Sveriges Radio (Swedish National Radio), and Yle (Finnish National Radio).

• English – Mother Tongue
• German and Norwegian – Basic conversational and reading

Head of Biosafety Center
Managing Director of the Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory, Institute for Infectious Diseases

The Institute for Infectious Diseases of the University of Bern combines diagnostics, teaching and research under one roof and covers the entire spectrum of microbiological diagnostics.

Kathrin Summermatter is heading the Biosafety Center and is the managing director of the BSL3 at the Institute for Infectious Diseases. She has been involved in Biosafety for more than 20 years. From 2002 -2019 she was the head of the biosafety department and the deputy director of the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI), the Swiss reference lab for highly contagious animal diseases (Biosafety Level 3 and 3Ag Laboratories). In addition, she was the coordinator of BIOSAFETY-Europe. She has been a long-standing member of the European Biosafety Association (EBSA) and the American Biosafety Association (ABSA). In 2003/2004 she was the president of EBSA. She is a member of the International Veterinary Biosafety Workgroup and a board member of the Swiss Biosafety Network (SBNet). She is the chair of the Technical Advisory Biosafety Board (TAG-B) of the WHO and a member of the WHO's Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). She is also the director of the WHO-Collaborating Center for Biosafety and Biosecurity.

Academic Education and Degrees
PhD in Biology

Trained as a biologist, Patrick Rüdelsheim started his career in a Dutch seed company. He then joined Plant Genetic Systems N.V., Ghent, Belgium. After being in charge of Product Development and Registration, he was appointed Director Regulatory Affairs and Member of the Board. 

Following the acquisition of PGS, he became Global Head of Biotechnology Regulatory Affairs for the AgrEvo group and remained in this function during the subsequent creation of Aventis S.A. and the acquisition by Bayer. In this function, he ensured the scientific argumentation for Product Safety and Quality as well as the compliance with all regulatory acquirements related to genetic engineering.

In 2003, he founded and became General Manager of Perseus BV, a service company focused on bio-safety and related regulatory requirements. Mid 2015, he was co-founder and served as Senior Regulatory Advisor for ABS-int, a multi-disciplinary initiative dedicated to Access and Benefit Sharing requirements for genetic resources. Since 2023, Perseus and ABS-int operate together as 3Bio, in which he acts as Director and Chief Regulatory Officer. In this capacity he offers his extensive and global experience in every aspect of biosafety and biotechnology regulation to a range of users and developers. He lectures on biosafety and regulations at the University of Ghent and the University of Antwerp.

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).