Scott Alderman has more than 23 years of biosafety experience and is currently the Director of Safety and RBL Operations for the Human Vaccine Institute at Duke University. He provides oversight of a comprehensive safety program for the Institute, which includes the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, a BSL-3/ABSL-3 facility that is currently registered with the CDC Select Agent Program. Scott is a voting member of Duke’s Institutional Biosafety Committee and is the Program Manager for the Duke Infectious Disease Response Training (DIDRT) consortium, a federally-funded program through the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. Over the past three years, more than 2000 healthcare and clinical laboratory workers have received tailored training through the DIDRT program on safely performing their assigned work duties during infectious disease outbreaks. Scott has a Bachelor’s of Science in biology from Radford University and a Master’s of Science in environmental sciences and engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been an active member of the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) since 1996, including past service as a Councilor for the Association. Scott is a member and Past-President of the Carolinas Biological Safety Association, an affiliate of ABSA.
James is a visionary sustainability executive with a track record of growing organizations that have transformed industries in multiple sectors, including manufacturing, real estate, tech, and life science. Over his career, he consulted with and developed sustainability programs for some of the world’s largest companies and institutions. An internationally recognized corporate sustainability expert, James has deep knowledge of ESG reporting and strategy. James was selected as a Greenbiz 30 under 30 sustainable business leader in 2017 and a Net Zero Energy Trailblazer in 2019 and is passionate about rapidly catalyzing a global transition to Net Zero.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Dr. K Renee Horton, an advocate for diversity and inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), works diligently in the community for STEM education and outreach. Founder of Unapologetically Being, Inc., a nonprofit for advocacy and mentoring in STEM, Renee speaks worldwide and continues to make an impact for both personal and systemic change to change the face of STEM.
Born in Baton Rouge, LA, Renee graduated from McKinley High School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Doctoral degree from the University of Alabama in Material Science with a concentration in Physics. Renee is the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Material Science from the University of Alabama. Renee currently serves as a NASA airworthiness deputy for the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstrator project at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Throughout her career, Renee has received numerous accolades and awards, including the Black Engineer of the Year Trailblazer Award in 2011, a NASA Space Fight Team Award, and a NASA Center Accommodation Award in 2019.
In 2019, Renee was named a Louisianian of the year and featured in the Louisiana Life magazine. She was among an elite group of nine individuals who stood out in their professions, gave back, and represented what’s best about Louisiana. She was inducted into the Louisiana State University Alumni Hall of Distinction, and honored with the Gulf Coast Organization Legacy Award in 2021. In 2022, Renee was one of the subjects in Google’s global mini-documentary on Black Women Techmakers.
With a commitment to community service, Renee serves on the board of directors for Lighthouse Louisiana, Families Helping Families NOLA, and the African American Women in Physics as the Managing Director of Programs. She is a Founding mentor for the LSU Alumni Mentor Program, the Patti Grace Fellowship, and has served as the Past President of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP). She currently holds the honor of being an NSBP Fellow.
Renee is the author of Dr. H Explores the Universe, a children’s series; the last release is Dr. H Explores the Universe – A Visit to the Moon in 2021. Renee was awarded the Silver Anniversary Artie Literature Award in 2018 by the New Orleans Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., for her published works and served as honorary co-chair for the Artie presentation in 2019. Renee’s books are currently in the McComb MS after-school program, Moss Point school district, St. Tammany Parish Libraries, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, West Feliciana Parish Library, Des Moines Public Library, Picayune MS Pre-K program, and St. Tammany head start program.
Dr. Renee is an active member of the Slidell Alumnae Chapter (SAC) and has worked diligently within Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. across the Southwest and Southern regions in a variety of positions. She is the proud mother of three and grandma of two.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Dr. Cristine “Cris” Lawson serves as the Deputy Director for Biosecurity for the Department of Defense (DoD) Biological Select Agents and Toxins (BSAT) Biorisk Program Office (BBPO). She is responsible for all DoD BSAT biorisk program oversight activities, including inventory management, security requirements, information management, operations, and incident response. Dr. Lawson received her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and as a post-doctoral fellow, with the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program at the National Institutes of Health, led large structured operational and programmatic reviews of several different biological programs spanning federal, state, and privately-owned facilities.
Paul Meechan has served as a biosafety professional for more than twenty years, both in the private sector as well as for the US Government. He is currently the Senior Advisor for Laboratory Safety in the Office Laboratory Science and Safety (OLSS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In that position, Paul has the responsibility for providing expert safety advice to leadership on regulatory issues that face laboratories at the CDC and serves as the liaison between the OLSS and other EHS offices within CDC. He also serves at the CDC Editor for the revision to the NIH/CDC publication Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories. Prior to this position, Paul served as the Director of the Environment, Safety, and Health Compliance Office (ESHCO) for CDC. Paul and his staff of 87 were responsible for the health and safety of the employees, contractors and visitors at the CDC, as well as protecting the environment at and around CDC campuses. Prior to joining the CDC, he served as the Corporate Biosafety Officer at Merck and Co., Inc. from 2003 to 2010, and served as the Biosafety Officer at the Merck facility at West Point, PA from 1996 to 2003. He has also been an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University. Paul has an undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry from SUNY College at Oswego, New York (1977), a Ph.D. in Radiation Biology from the University of Rochester (1983), and a MPH in Occupational Health and Safety Management from Tulane University (2003). He also holds RBP and CBSP certifications from ABSA. He has served two terms on the ABSA Council as Secretary and one term as President, has served as President of the Mid-Atlantic Biological Safety Association (MABSA) and the Southeast Biological Safety Association (SEBSA). He has been a member of numerous Federal taskforces and committees.
Bio coming soon.
C. Mark Ott received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.B.A. and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Louisiana State University. For the past 25 years, Dr. Ott has served as a technical lead at the NASA Johnson Space Center Microbiology Laboratory, which is responsible for mitigating infectious disease risks during human spaceflight. His responsibilities include development of microbiological requirements for spaceflight missions, biosafety risk assessments of spaceflight payloads, and overseeing microbiological monitoring of food, potable water, and spacecraft environments. He has published extensively in the areas of microbial ecology of spacecraft, human and microbial responses to spaceflight, and the development of advanced tissue culture models to investigate infectious disease. In addition, Dr. Ott serves as the Chair for the Biosafety Review Board and the Chair for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the NASA Johnson Space Center. He is also the Deputy Editor for the Nature Research journal, npj Microgravity.
Bio coming soon.
Dr. Pentella is a Clinical Professor at the University of Iowa, College of Public Health and Director of the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory. His experience spans over forty years in clinical microbiology and public health laboratories. He is certified as an American Board of Medical Microbiology Diplomate, a specialist in microbiology through the American Society for Clinical Pathology, and certified in infection control through the Association of Professionals in Infection Control. Dr. Pentella is a member of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Infectious Disease Committee, the APHL Biosafety and Biosecurity Committee (chair), and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Lab Practices Committee. Over the years, he has made several contributions that have improved the practice of clinical microbiology and biosafety. He has written over 45 articles and fifteen book chapters.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Maureen Thompson BSN, RN, COHN-S, RBP is the Assistant Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Emory University and Environmental Health and Safety Officer (EHSO) at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (NPRC). Her responsibilities include: guidance and oversight for regulatory compliance, environmental health and safety training, BSL/ABSL-3 containment oversight, safety inspections, hazard identification, hazard monitoring and risk assessments. She is also responsible for the follow-up and investigations related to student, volunteer and employee injuries and exposures as well, as the workers compensation program. Prior to working in research Maureen worked as a Neonatal Nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Early career experiences include work in clinical laboratories and pediatric phlebotomy. Maureen has worked in the field of Environmental Health and Safety for more than 25 years, first as the Safety Officer at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta and then as the EHSO at the Yerkes NPRC. She continues to work with numerous agencies and research facilities to address research related health and safety concerns and development of comprehensive safety programs. She is a voting member of the Emory University Institutional Biosafety and Research Safety Committees and is the EHSO representative on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Jason Villano is the Director of Rodent and Rabbit Resources and an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Villano earned his veterinary degree from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and a Master of Science degree while pursuing residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He has served as clinical veterinarian at the Singapore General Hospital and at the University of Texas Medical Branch before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan Medical School. A Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), he currently serves as an ad hoc consultant for AAALAC International and is an active member and leader of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), ACLAM, and the Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV). He has written a book and book chapters and several scientific and review papers in the field of laboratory animal medicine and science.
Bio coming soon.
Jacob Werner is a senior architect and laboratory planner who has devoted his career to the design of intuitive environments for scientific discovery; he is an Associate Principal with Ellenzweig. Jacob is particularly interested in the evolution of science education and how this evolution is changing the design of academic laboratories. Jacob is a passionate advocate for sustainable design and design research; he holds credentials as a LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, My Green Lab Ambassador, and Passive House Consultant. Jacob is a leader in the International Institute of Sustainable Labs (I2SL), serving on the Labs2Zero Technical Advisory Council. Jacob has spoken extensively and authored numerous technical publications, about both laboratory design and sustainability; his latest research includes I2SL’s “Decarbonizing Laboratories: A Primer.”
