Conferences & meetings

Looking forward to seeing you at one of these events! Missed one? Contact us for an update.

2017

Jun 4 – Jun 8

14th International Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms (ISBGMO)

Guadalajara, Mexico

The goal of the symposium is to advance the standing of biosafety research around the world and shape the ways in which GM technology is applied and regulated. The ISBGMO 2017 conference theme is “Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms: past, present and future”, hoping that an in-depth analysis of 30 years of experience will help advance the sound application of environmental risk assessment to limit environmental impacts and ensure safe food and feed, for the next generation of GMOs, and products derived from new technologies.

Link to conference information

Apr 25 – Apr 28

20th EBSA Conference

Madrid, Spain

The 2017 Annual Conference of the European Biosafety Association, one of the major global biosafety and biosecurity events of the year featuring pre-conference courses, high impact talks, breakout sessions, poster presentation and exhibition. As usual, participants will have multiple opportunities for networking with biosafety and biosecurity colleagues from all over Europe and beyond.

Mark the dates and look out for updates!

Link to conference information

Feb 9

BBP Symposium

Leuven, Belgium

Link to conference information

Jan 19

Challenges in evidence-based biosafety

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Dutch Association of Biosafety Officers (BVF platform) and the Netherlands Commission on Genetic Modification (COGEM) have decided to jointly organize this international meeting to identify and evaluate challenges in evidence-based-biosafety. In this one-day meeting they will address the effectivity of containment measures, the extent of incidents and accidents in life-science research, and different (international) perspectives on biosafety. Furthermore, the meeting will provide a platform for a discussion about the need for change in the field of biosafety.

Link to conference information

2016

Apr 19 – Apr 22

19th EBSA Conference

Lille, France

The 2016 Annual Conference of the European Biosafety Association, one of the major global biosafety and biosecurity events of the year featuring pre-conference courses, high impact talks, breakout sessions, poster presentation and exhibition. As usual, participants will have multiple opportunities for networking with biosafety and biosecurity colleagues from all over Europe and beyond.

Mark the dates and look out for updates!

2015

Sep 14 – Sep 18

International Course - The Principles of Biosafety

Ghent, Belgium

People responsible for biosafety and biorisk management in an organization have to cope with an increasing complexity and diversity of topics. The course aims at providing a comprehensive overview of all essential elements involved in biosafety and biorisk management, and at strengthening the biosafety practitioners to build their own systematic approach.

Link to conference information

Jun 19

IIBN 2015 Forum: Towards a Generic Market for Genetically Modified Crops – Potential for Emerging and Developing Economies

Ghent, Belgium

Recently, the US patent on one of the first and commercially most successful  GM crops expired, opening the prospect of generic GM crop products. Similar to the pharmaceutical sector, a  market for generic GM crops could become a game-changer in the agricultural sector by providing seed at reduced cost and by diversifying GM seed and related businesses. During the 2015 IIBN Forum leading experts in agricultural biotechnology will assess the opportunity and conditions for establishing a generic market for GM crops, in particular for emerging and developing economies.

Link to conference information

Jun 16

Prenne 34 (Only in Dutch)

Oostende, Belgium

Prenne is dé ontmoetingsplaats waar preventieadviseurs 4 maal per jaar kunnen bijscholen, elkaar ontmoeten, ervaringen kunnen delen en contacten leggen. Perseus geeft op deze bijeenkomst een lezing over bioveiligheid. Hierin wordt aan de hand van enkele gevallen de nood van en de uitdagingen voor een goede samenwerking tussen alle veiligheidsfuncties benadrukt.

Link to conference information

Jun 1 – Jun 3

7th Meeting of the IOBC-WPRS Working Group

Sofia, Bulgaria

The IOBC-WPRS working group “GMO’s in integrated plant production” aims to present a platform for exchange of research results and to stimulate collaborative projects dealing with genetically modified plants, their potential impact on the environment, and their role in integrated production systems.

The meeting covers GMO research in the Black Sea Reagion, GM insects in agricultural applications, gene technology developments such as RNAi and breeding stacks, insect resistance management and non-target organisms, GMOs in integrated production, and evidence synthesis.

Link to conference information

Apr 21 – Apr 24

18th EBSA Conference

Vienna, Austria

The 2015 Annual Conference of the European Biosafety Association, one of the major global biosafety and biosecurity events of the year. This year’s theme is “Orchestrating a (bio)safe world“.

Pre-conference courses will cover a wide range of topics, all aligned with the Biosafety Professional Competence training specifications. In the main conference high impact talks and breakout sessions will address topics such as working with animals, clinical settings, communicating risks, transfer from field to lab and hospital; and dual use. In addition, participants will have multiple opportunities for networking with biosafety and biosecurity colleagues from all over Europe and beyond.

Link to conference information

2014

Nov 24 – Nov 25

Workshop EU Rules Access and Benefit Sharing

Paris, France

Working out ABS: Preparing to Comply with the New EU Rules on Access and Benefit-sharing 

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization was concluded in October 2010 under the auspices of the CBD after many years of negotiations. This provides an international framework for establishing national regimes on ABS.

The conference aimed to prepare companies and organisations, accessing and utilizing genetic resources to comply with the EU Regulation on Access and Benefit-sharing (Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 in force since October 12, 2014. This was accomplished by presentations on ABS rules, discussions and workshops on compliance studying a variety of cases.

Nov 9 – Nov 13

13th International Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms (ISBGMO13)

Cape Town, South Africa

South Africa will be hosting the International Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms (ISBGMO) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), one of the world’s premier conferencing destinations.

The ISBGMO is a biennial, international meeting organised under the auspices of the ISBR. The goal of the symposium is to advance the standing of biosafety research around the world and shape the ways in which GM technology is applied and regulated.

It brings together academics, technology developers, regulatory authorities, non-government organisations and other credible stakeholders involved in all aspects of biosafety and offers a unique opportunity to share information and experiences and engage in open and meaningful dialogue on biosafety research, risk analysis, policy and regulatory matters.

Link to conference information

Oct 23

BBP Workshop ‘A practical approach to biological waste issues’

Leuven, Belgium

Participants to this workshop of the Belgian Biosafety Professionals will, amongst others, were asked to solve practical waste issues in an interactive manner. 

Oct 15

International scientific workshop on stacked Bt genes: assessment of effects on non-target organisms

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

In recent years numerous GM crops expressing multiple Bt genes have entered the authorisation process. The stacking of Bt genes leads to new questions for risk assessment:

  • Will Bt proteins in GM plants interact?
  • Can this be predicted?
  • If there is a potential for interactions, which types of studies could be conducted to assess the potential effect on NTOs?

The aim of the workshop is to discuss aspects that are important when assessing the effects of multiple Bt proteins and to identify practical approaches to assess these effects.

Aug 30 – Sep 4

FEBS - EMBO 2014

Paris, France

The Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), EMBO – Excellence in life sciences, and the French Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SFBBM) will hold a joint conference for the life sciences. 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of FEBS and EMBO, and the centennial of the SFBBM.

This year’s meeting replaces the normally separate annual conferences of FEBS and EMBO, and combining these communities, it is expected to bring together a wide range of researchers. Angela Nieto, Susan M. Gasser, Eric Westhof and Michael Reth have agreed to act as the programme committee.  They have put together a scientific programme covering the breadth of the life sciences.

Patrick Rüdelsheim, Perseus, will give a presentation in the special session Science and Society on Sunday 31 August.

Link to conference information

Jul 13 – Jul 16

16th European Congress on Biotechnology (ECB16)

The European Congress on Biotechnology is the leading conference for academic and industrial biotechnologists in Europe organised by the European Federation of Biotechnology. The 16th biennial event will take place in the beautiful and historic city of Edinburgh, Scotland. 

The scientific programme is designed to cover all aspects of biotechnology, including environmental and green biotechnology, microbial physiology, microbial synthetic and systems biology, applied biocatalysis, industrial biotechnology, biochemical engineering, medical biotechnology and much more.

Link to the conference website

Jun 4 – Jun 5

EFSA International scientific workshop: Risk assessment considerations for RNAi-based GM plants

Brussels, Belgium

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is organising a scientific workshop on  RNA interference (RNAi) based genetically modified (GM) plants.

The workshop aims to bring together scientists and experts on risk assessment from academia, diverse risk assessment bodies and the private sector. Several experts will give a state-of-the-art overview of their scientific work on mechanistic requirements of RNAi in plants, mammals and invertebrates, and the current risk assessment approaches for GM (including RNAi-based) plants. Different break-out sessions will discuss selected aspects of the risk assessment of RNAi-based GM plants.

The objectives of this workshop are to discuss: (1) RNAi mechanisms in plants, mammals and invertebrates; (2) current and future RNAi applications in GM plants; and (3) risk assessment approaches for such plants.

Link to meeting website

May 13 – May 16

17th Annual EBSA Conference

Ghent, Belgium

The 2014 Annual Conference of the European Biosafety Association, one of the major global biosafety and biosecurity events of the year. This year’s theme is “Crossing borders“.

Pre-conference courses will be offered covering a wide range of topics, all aligned with the Biosafety Professional Competence training specifications.

Link to conference information