News

We're glad to be able to offer three scholarships for the 7. Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory. If you meet the specified criteria, we're looking forward to your application!

The scholarship includes the free-of-charge participation in the 7. Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory in Ulm, Germany. It doesn't include, in contrast, in particular the travel expenses.

Our criteria:

1. The age limit is 35 years (including).
2. You work in a laboratory or hospital.
3. You work on a project with a focus on biosafety.

Your application includes:

1. A short (!) job description.
2. A short (!) project description.
3. Specification of age
4. Your contact data

We consider all applications that arrive by November 8th 2023. We give you feedback by November 10th 2023. Please send your application to blaha.f@labconcert.de.

There's no entitlement to granting the scholarship. Legal recourse is excluded. In case of any doubt, we're allowed to require you to send us proof of age (e.g., scan of passport).

Due to the connection with one of the frequent speakers of the International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory, Dr Willy Kiprotich Tonui, we like to advertise the 1st Global Congress On Emerging Genetic Biocontrol Technologies from August 28th to September 02nd in Nairobi, Kenya.

Theme: Emerging Genetic Biocontrol Technologies: Progress made in the Science, Research, Testing, and Environmental Release of Experimental Genetically Modified Biocontrol Products

For more information, please visit conference2023.genbioconsortium.africa.

Registration

6. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory on November 28th to 29th 2022 in Beilngries (Bavaria)

While, at least in most parts of the world, the pandemic turns into a more endemic situation, a variety of previously important topics and tasks emerge again. In the field of laboratory biosafety, these range from biosafety requirements to technical solutions, from design to validation, from cost-efficient implementation to cutting-edge technology, from interfaces to processes. They prompt us to take into consideration the manifold experiences which allow us to learn from past successful projects. At the same time, they drive us to integrate new approaches into the planning, building and commissioning of biosafety laboratories worldwide. Most prominent is the transformation to a risk-based and evidence-based approach in the design of biosafety facilities, which itself entails heightened requirements on the knowledge of staff involved in the planning of such facilities.

In this year’s conference, we discuss a selection of the most important issues. Amongst them are the risk-based design of biosafety laboratories, challenges to test the efficiency and efficacy of decontamination showers, lessons learnt from a recently completed high-containment large animal facility and the question of increased biosafety with directional airflow and differential pressure in BSL-4 laboratories. In addition to the official talks, we provide plenty of time to meet and discuss your own topics – with our speakers, our partners and your colleagues.

The 6. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory is will take place on November 28th to 29th 2022 in Beilngries (Bavaria). We'll publish the event program within a few weeks from now.

We're happy to see you (again)!

High-level Isolation Units (HLIUs) are biocontainment units in healthcare facilities specifically designed for the isolation and treatment of patients with highly infectious diseases (HID). HID are easily transmissible from person to person and pose a threat for healthcare personnel and the public. Therefore, in case of patients with HID (even if only suspected) several measures must be implemented in order to prevent infection and to protect patients as well as healthcare workers: patients need a clinical environment that provides safe, secure and high-quality care as well as an optimal infection containment. Dealing with the technical requirements for High-level Isolation Units is a challenging task of high importance for the global public health.

Together with experts in the field of biocontainment units we will discuss the technical requirements for the design and operation of High-level Isolation Units. Seminar topics will be centered around following questions:

• the medical importance of High-level Isolation Units for public health
• dealing with the diverging biosafety requirements and requirements for high-quality medical patient care
• special requirements on the ventilation systems and air handling in High-level Isolation Units
• standards and regulations for High-level Isolation Units in a global context

5. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory on November 29th to 30th 2021 in Berching (Bavaria) plus online participation

With the events and developments of 2020, the topic of biosafety experiences a substantial expansion onto the field of medical care beyond classic high-safety laboratories. It shows that science, research and stationary treatment of patients with highly contagious diseases all tackle comparable tasks in important aspects: minimizing biological risks, protecting life and ensuring the continuous operation – especially in times when the recovery of patients and the prevention of infections depend upon robust research and analytical results being available as soon as possible. Research and medicine are therefore working on different aspects of the same global health. As a result, requirements, principles and experiences in the field of biosafety are increasingly being integrated into medical research, analysis and treatment of patients with highly contagious diseases.

This year's conference is centred around the planning, building and commissioning of high-security laboratories and facilities with similar requirements regarding biosafety. The range of topics includes building technology and laboratory technology, new standards for high-security laboratories, project reports, public health in a global context, as well as lessons learned from - then - 2 years of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

We are very happy to provide you with the workshop results of the webinar "The 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual" with Dr. Kathrin Summermatter and Fabio Blaha!

The topic comes with lots of questions and subtopics, of course. That is the reason we seek to host special webinars on the most important subtopics of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual.

Topic: The 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual

• Improving on Core Requirements - How to Implement Continuous Improvement in a Biosafety Laboratory?
• International Biosecurity Challenges - What to Learn from the 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual?
• Risk-based Decontamination and Waste Management: What to Learn from the 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual?
• Risk-based Selection and Use of PPE: What to Learn from the 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual?
• Risk-based Selection and Operation of Primary Containment Devices with Respect to Low-Resource Settings
• How to Implement a Biosafety Committee: Lessons Learned
• Application of a Risk-Based Approach to Animal Facilities: First Steps and Lessons Learned
• How to Implement and Maintain a Risk Assessment Process: What to Learn from the 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual?

Topic: Biosafety in Low-Resource Settings

• Evidence-based Design of a Cost-Effective and Sustainable Biosafety Laboratory
• Biosafety Standards for Low-Resource Settings: What to Expect from the 4th Edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual?
• Sustainable Energy Supply for a Core Requirements Biosafety Laboratory

As soon as it is due, we publish the respective date, together with all further information you need to participate!

If you want to watch the past webinar: the recording is available via: https://www.labconcert-webinare.de/w/384746

For questions and suggestions, just write an e-mail to Fabio Blaha (blaha.f@labconcert.de). We are looking forward to it!

The 4th edition of the International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory lived up to the name: Counting 13 speakers from 6 different countries and about 80 participants from 33 nations, we succeeded in gathering international experts and interested parties in the field of Biosafety and Laboratory online and to start an exchange.

The two days of the Conference focused on two main topics: „Laboratory, Healthcare and Pandemics“ and „Laboratory, Technology and Standards“.

• Rajka Fritsch (CEO of German LabConCert) opened the event with a Welcome Address. Subsequently, the moderator Jessica Grein (German LabConCert) gave an overview over the event’s program.
• In the 1st lecture Dr. Jürgen Mertsching (MHH Hannover) and Dr. Bastian Pasche (Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionskrankheiten) provided insights in diagnostics and research during the Coronavirus pandemic. They concentrated on the requirements for BSL-3-laboratories out of the user’s perspective by using clear examples.
• They were followed by Dr. Timo Kehl (DKFZ Heidelberg) who gave a lecture about humankind’s long relationship with pandemics. He showed the interested audience ways and strategies how to deal productively and positively with the historically grown and acquired knowledge about pandemics.
• After a short coffee break Florian Kellner-Fendt (Tecniplast Deutschland) talked about animal husbandry in biomedical research. His main focus were automation and digitalization in this field. He was able to show their practical application by vivid and detailled examples.
• The lunch break was followed by a Partner workshop of EnviroDTS in which Volker Luh demonstrated how to deal with infectious waste water.
• Dr. Kathrin Summermatter’s (University of Bern – IFIK, Switzerland) lecture explained the decommissioning of a BSL-3-laboratory in a historic building. She gave an overview over the required measures and explained the different steps of the process with profound knowledge based on her experience of many years at the Institute for Infectious diseases.
• In another Partner Workshop Florian Kellner-Fendt presented Tecniplast Deutschland. He showed a company movie and gave a tour through the virtual showroom.
• After a second coffee break Paul Langevin (Merrick Canada) informed about new Canadian laboratory design standards.
• The final event of the first Conference day was a Partner Workshop of HT Group presenting a cooperation project: Dr. Axel Müller (OHB System AG) informed the participants about MUCA (Mobile Unit Contamination Analysis).
• The second Conference day started with a project report of Huub Klaasen (MEET RIVM, Netherlands) containing information about laboratory construction for the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
• In the following lecture Claus Schweinheim (HT Lab Tec GmbH) showed system solutions to transport people and material in BSL-3/4-laboratories and similiar facilities.
• After a coffee break Frank Tauer´s (ROM Technik) lecture dealt with room ventilation taking in accout wind pressure on the building. As an illustrative analogy he chose the example of the theft of the Dresden jewels in 2019. The wind pressure was compared to the thieves, the ventilation system and its control to the security measures in the Grünes Gewölbe.
• After the lunch break John Mumford (ASPIDA, France) talked about hospital preparedness for patients with infectious diseases. His presentation contained many examples of practical applications and provided insights for the audience.
• Jasper Ceuppens and Ph.D Maria Ten Palomares (Doctors without Borders, Belgium) gave report based on experience with the technical and logistical challenges they have to face as NGO representatives. Their focus lay on working with HVAC-systems in healthcare facilities..
• After a last coffee break Markus Michel (Fraunhofer-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik) gave a report (prepared with Dr. Anja Germann of the Fraunhofer-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik) introducing mobile laboratory units against SARS-CoV2 and other pandemics. After explaining the details he gave a live video tour of the mobile units.
• The Conference ended with a concluding discussion with all speakers, divided into two groups based on the main topics „Laboratory, Healthcare and Pandemics“ and „Laboratory, Technology and Standards“.

Once again we managed with the 4. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory to start an international exchange of experts, raise new issues and to consider the changing events of 2020 and their impact on the whole field.

For sure we will face many new questions and challenges concerning Biosafety and Laboratory within the next months – we already look forward to discuss them with you in the next and 5. Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory 2021 (29th to 30th of November)!

• HT Group / www.htgroup.de
• TÜV SÜD / www.tuvsud.com
• TECNIPLAST / www.tecniplast.de / www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcB-BTVKZvY
• neuberger / www.neuberger.net
• ENVIRODTS / www.envirodts.de

Webinar: The 4th ed. of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual on 20th of January 2021, 10:00–12:30 a.m. (UTC+1)

The 4th edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual has finally been published in late 2020, in addition to 7 monographs that cover the various technical and organizational topics of biosafety.

The central change is its evidence-based and risk-based approach that discards the classification of biological agents into risk groups, as well as the concept of biosafety levels. Instead, it focuses on the specific situation, including the context of the laboratory, the competence of its personnel and the procedures on the biological agents. Following its apporach, every measure to ensure biosafety is the result of the thorough assessment of the concrete risks, which itself is embedded in a comprehensive biosafety programme management. This relates to technical as well as to organizational measures.

For now, the 4th edition marks the first and most important step into biosafety without biosafety levels. It will change the way we think about biosafety, and it will challenge us to find the most practical, most sustainable, most economically feasible, the most situation-adequate solutions. However, the implications for especially the national regulations are not manifest yet. We will take a look into the new WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual, nevertheless,

• to outline its general concept, and
• to excite interest in the extensive information that comes with it and its 7 additional monographs.

Join us for the presentations of

• Dr Kathrin Summermatter (Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Switzerland)
• M.A. Fabio Blaha (German LabConCert GmbH, Germany)

as well as for the subsequent workshop on the implications of the 4th edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual.  

The issue also concerns you? All information on how to register can be found at https://www.labconcert-webinare.de/w/384746.

Do you have any questions beforehand? Please write to academy@labconcert.de or call us.

Conference: 4. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory on 30th of November and 1st of December 2020 as online conference

With the events and developments of 2020, the topic of biosafety experiences a substantial expansion onto the field of medical care beyond classic high-safety laboratories. It shows that science, research and stationary treatment of patients with highly contagious diseases all tackle comparable tasks in important aspects: minimizing biological risks, protecting life and ensuring the continuous operation – especially in times when the recovery of patients and the prevention of infections depend upon robust research and analytical results being available as soon as possible. Research and medicine are therefore working on different aspects of the same global health. As a result, requirements, principles and experiences in the field of biosafety are increasingly being integrated into medical research, analysis and treatment of patients with highly contagious diseases.

The program for the 4. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory reflects the current developments: diagnostics and research during the coronavirus pandemic, hospital preparedness for infectious disease patients and other topics from the medical spectrum complement laboratory topics such as the decommissioning of a BSL 3 laboratory and animal keeping in biomedical research. 

This sounds interesting to you? Sign up and discuss solutions and aspects with our renowned speakers. All information on how to register can be found here.

We look forward to welcoming you to our online conference!

Do you have any questions beforehand? Please write to conference@labconcert.de or call us.

Webinar: SARS-CoV-2 - Behind the Headlines on 14th of July 2020, 10:00 a.m. (UTC+2)

After 6 months into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we have statistical and epidemiological data that only partially confirm our initial assumptions. In other words: it is time to update our knowledge of SARS-CoV-2.

In this context, Dr Timo Kehl of the German Cancer Research Center presents the most relevant findings and projections after 6 months of research on SARS-CoV-2 and its outbreak conditions. This includes current studies on risk groups, transmission, pathophysiology including organ damage and the resulting requirements for our health systems. By now, previous measures can be reassessed, new conclusions can be drawn and projections can be made regarding the further development in 2020 and 2021.

Our speaker Dr Timo Kehl is Head of the Biosafety Unit at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and since the beginning of this year Head of the Corona Task Force at DKFZ. He has been working towards understanding the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and identifying ways to create a long term safe working environment and minimize the risk of infection clusters at DKFZ.

The issue also concerns you? Sign up free-of-charge and discuss solutions and aspects with our speaker.

Online Training (6-part): Getting it right: Quality Management in Biosafety Laboratories
weekly on Thursdays from the 25th of June to the 30th of July 2020, 10:00 a.m. (UTC+2)

In biosafety laboratories, quality management and risk assessment are key to establishing and maintaining a safe working environment and reliable results and thus call for great care and knowledge. Since every successful quality management system incorporates and addresses the specific external context as well as the internal setting of the laboratory, understanding the quality-relevant aspects of biosafety laboratories is essential.

This training treats both sides: the necessary knowledge of quality management concepts and methods, including the topics of risk assessment and uncertainty calculation, as well as the knowledge of biosafety principles. In this regard, the first two webinars give basic input on the application of ISO 15189 and ISO 17025 in biosafety laboratories - for starters and refreshers. The topic of the third webinar is modern molecular diagnostic methods for infectious diseases: the biology and chemistry, their use in the light of the current epidemic situation, as well as general biosafety, biosecurity and biosurvaillance. The next two webinars examine general risk assessment methods and uncertainty calculation in theory and practice, focusing on the tasks and processes in biosafety laboratories. The last webinar covers analytical methods and bioassay validation.

Sign up and discuss solutions and aspects with our speaker Dr. Denys Bilko.

Do you have any questions beforehand? Please write to academy@labconcert.de or call us.

2-part-webinar: Biosafety requirements while working with SARS-CoV-2: Biosafety cabinets on 04th and 18th of June 2020, 10:00 a.m. (UTC+2)

Increased testing for COVID-19 also means that more laboratory staff has to work with SARS-CoV-2 and needs to be protected as part of fulfilling biosafety requirements. In addition to the use of personal protective equipment, it is essential that work with sample material is carried out in biosafety cabinets.

Biosafety cabinets (BSC) are the most important and most widely used primary containment equipment in microbiological and biomedical laboratories (BSL-2, BSL-3 and BSL-4) for the protection of workers, the environment and the product. BSC efficacy depends on the selection of appropriate type and size of the cabinet, proper function, correct placement of the cabinet in the laboratory, and how the work on the cabinet is organised and carried out.

Sign up and discuss solutions and aspects with our speaker Dr. Felix Gmünder.

Do you have any questions beforehand? Please write to academy@labconcert.de or call us.

Webinar: Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: changes in plan in a BSL-2 laboratory on 14th of May 2020, 10:00 a.m (UTC+2)

The COVID-19 outbreak still influences work all over the world. For biosafety laboratories, too, this means significant adjustments to workflows - despite the experience in dealing with viruses and other pathogens.

In this webinar the challenges of keeping up the workflow in a biosafety laboratory as well as the necessary changes are explained. Adaptions in contingency plans and internal operation plans are as crucial as those to stock management and to the communications with sponsors. Personnel safety, risk level, integration of foreign staff have to be evaluated continually and kept up-to-date with the required flexibility, but also with determination. Additionally, our speaker will share his experiences in implementing testing for Covid-19 in his BSL-2 laboratory.

The issue also concerns you? Sign up and discuss solutions and aspects with our speaker Godfrey Tuda (BSL-2 laboratory in Kambia, Sierra Leone).

Do you have any questions in advance? Please write to academy@labconcert.de or call us.

Webinar: Organization and layout of the COVID-19 testing laboratory: theoretical and practical aspects towards biosafety and technical competence on 22nd of April 2020, 10:00 a.m

This online seminar covers the whole spectrum of microbiological as well as technical measures for COVID-19 testing laboratories: from detection methods to analytical actions, from laboratory layout and flows separation to HVAC system design considerations. Including the topic of risk analysis, we discuss the central aspects of concepts and building solutions keeping in mind that time is of the essence, but also bearing in mind, that laboratory preparedness for this and following health crisis is indispensable.

The issue also concerns you? Sign up and discuss solutions and aspects with our speaker Dr. Denys Bilko.

Do you have any questions in advance? Please write to academy@labconcert.de or call us.

While the construction site’s own excavator is still purring, German LabConCert GmbH celebrates its one-year anniversary this June. Just as the completion of the bank building of Sparkasse in Hilpoltstein, where the company has its seat, still takes time, German LabConCert GmbH has not arrived at its destination yet. Nevertheless, this first anniversary invites us to pause for a moment and celebrate the achievements and successes so far.

Founded on the 15th of June 2018, the company provides services related to design and commissioning of research laboratories and isolation stations with high standards for biosafety (in particular BSL-3 and BSL-4) as well as GMP areas in hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. The projects take our team to Berlin, Switzerland and the Ukraine, to Norway, Russia and Japan, to international companies such as Novartis Switzerland and public institutions such as the Robert Koch Institute. The circle comes to a close when training and seminars bring the customers back to Hilpoltstein and its surrounding area: With the success of the 2. International Conference on Biosafety and Laboratory in Beilngries with 134 participants from 16 countries, this year’s conference in Neumarkt and the next seminars in Hilpoltstein have a lot to live up to.

The task is to conceptualize and commission building and installation technology that meets European and international standards. Achieving the highest possible level of safety for the environment and the employees and creating the prerequisites regarding the building and installation technology for producing drugs under controlled conditions – these are the goals German LabConCert is committed to.

Meanwhile, the usual stuff is coming up: equipping additional offices, setting up workstations, introducing processes and structures and adjusting them to growth step by step, attracting employees and tackling new topics. At this point, at the latest, with the upcoming orders and projects in mind we can conclude: The second year begins as the first one ends – with interesting projects and exciting tasks.

The webinars on the topic of system solutions for critical rooms in hospitals and laboratories are getting a sequel. Nine speakers and co-speakers in total bundle knowledge and information regarding the daily tasks and challenges of planners, operators, architects and engineers: Take a look at the Program 2019/2020!

We are especially glad to extent the group of speakers by Christian Kern from WOBATECH and Dr. Daniel Kümin from Basler & Hofmann - two proven experts of their field of work. Both speakers will complement the range of speakers provided by German LabConCert as well as HT Group.

Log in from autumn to spring! Contact us at academy@labconcert.de for any questions.