After careful consideration of all applications submitted to WHO, the following individuals are proposed for membership of the WHO technical Advisory Group on Biosafety (TAG-B).
Following a public call for experts, the World Health Organization (WHO) today announced proposed members of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Biosafety (TAG-B). The TAG-B will provide independent advice to the WHO including its strategic priorities and plans of action on specific topics relating to biosafety and biosecurity.
The 16 proposed TAG-B members have expertise in a range of areas including, but not limited to the following:
- biosafety and biosecurity;
- national and international policy, regulation and guidance;
- safe storage and transport of biological agents;
- biological containment facilities and primary containment devices;
- biological risk assessment;
- personal protective equipment (PPE);
- laboratory design and maintenance;
- decontamination and waste handling;
- outbreak preparedness and resilience;
- new and emerging technologies in biological science; and
- new and emerging/re-emerging pathogens.
The composition of the TAG-B properly reflects geographic and gender diversity.
As per WHO processes, there will now be a two-week public consultation period for WHO to receive feedback on the proposed TAG-B members and set in place the modalities for the TAG-B’s first meeting, which is planned to take place following this consultation period.
The final membership to the TAG-B is subject to the above-mentioned public consultation period and relevant WHO practices and procedures.
Functions of the TAG-B
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the TAG-B shall have the following functions:
- To provide, review and make recommendations to the WHO of the scientific, technical and strategic aspects of the WHO biosafety programme.
- To recommend priorities to the WHO e.g. revision of documents, most important areas of biosafety and biosecurity on which to focus.
- To advise the WHO on specific topics relating to biosafety and biosecurity.
- To advise the WHO on opportunities, international initiatives and partnerships appropriate to the WHO Biosafety programme.
- To review and makes recommendations to the WHO on biosafety and biosecurity guidance.
WHO will be finalizing the appointment of the first 16 members in the coming days following the review of comments received during their notice period.
The members are to serve in their personal capacities to represent the broad range of disciplines relevant to biosafety and biosecurity. In evaluating the applications submitted, consideration was given to attaining an adequate distribution of technical expertise, geographical representation and gender balance.
Proposed TAG-B members
- Dr Salama Al Muhairi is the head of the Research and Development of HazMat Department, of the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) in the United Arab Emirates. She is from the United Arab Emirates.
- Professor Atanu Basu is a Director Grade Scientist and Head of the Pathology and Electron Microscopy Facility at the National Institute of Virology, Indian Council of Medical Research. He is from India.
- Professor Stuart Blacksell is Head of Health & Safety and Biorisk and Zoonosis group leader at Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a Professor of Tropical Microbiology at the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is from Australia.
- Dr Sergey Aleksandrovich Bodnev is the head of the Epidemiology of Highly Dangerous Virus Infections laboratory and the head of the Reference Center for orthopoxviruses and other dangerous infection diseases at the Federal Budgetary Research Institution - State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (VECTOR), Rospotrebnadzor in Russia. He is from the Russian Federation.
- Dr Samuel Edwin is the director of the Division of Select Agents and Toxins, Center for Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, the United States of America. He is from the United States of America.
- Dr Aissam Hachid is an associate professor in medical microbiology at Medicine Faculty, Algiers, Algeria and head of arboviruses and emerging viruses laboratory at the Human Virology Department. Pasteur Institute of Algeria. He is from Algeria.
- Professor Aamer Ikram is the Executive Director of the National Institutes of Health in Islamabad. He is from Pakistan.
- Ms Morgan Kafenzakis is the manager of the biosafety standards and guidelines program with the Centre for Biosecurity, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), in Ottawa, Ontario. She is from Canada.
- Mr David Lam is the assistant director of biological safety at Singapore General Hospital. He is from Singapore.
- Mr Zibusiso Masuku leads the biosafety and biosecurity division of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in South Africa. He is from Zimbabwe.
- Ms Leonora Nusblat is a biocontainment manager in the Biocontainment Unit (Unidad Opertiva Centro de Contención Biológica – UOCCB) at the National Administration of Laboratories and Institutes of Health (Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud). Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is from Argentina.
- Dr Indrawati Sendow is a biosafety officer and head of the BSL-3 zoonoses laboratory, virology department, at the Indonesian Research Center for Veterinary Science (IRCVS). She is from Indonesia.
- Dr Jane Shallcross is the head of the Novel and Dangerous Pathogens Training Team and project manager at the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). She is from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- Dr Katharina Summermatter is the head of the Biosafety Center and Managing Director of the Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory at the Institute for Infectious Diseases at the University of Berne in Switzerland. She is from Switzerland.
- Ms Sacha Wallace-Sankarsingh is a biorisk manager at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago. She is from Guyana.
- Professor Guizhen Wu is the Chief Expert of Biosafety at China CDC and Director of the BSL-3 laboratory at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and prevention (IVDC), China CDC. She is from China.
Pursuant to WHO’s rules and practices, and in order to enhance WHO’s management of conflicts of interest, as well as strengthen public trust and transparency in connection with WHO advisory groups involving the provision of technical advice, the names and brief biographies of the individuals selected for TAG-B Membership are now disclosed for public notice and comment.
Should you wish to comment on the individuals, please send your comments to biosafety@who.int with subject, “Public comments on TAG-B members,” by 17 June 2022, 17:00 CET.
WHO will treat the comments received through this public notice and comment process confidentially. Comments and perceptions brought to the attention of WHO through this process are an integral component of WHO’s conflict of interest assessment policy and will, subject to WHO’s rules, practices, and policies, be carefully reviewed by WHO. WHO reserves the right to discuss information received through this process with the relevant expert and otherwise within the Organization as appropriate, with no attribution to the provider of the information. WHO, may, in its sole discretion, take appropriate action in accordance with its rules, practices, and policies, based on any information received.
Disclaimer:
In order to enhance its management of Conflicts of Interest as well as strengthen public trust and transparency in connection with WHO meetings involving the provision of technical/normative advice, the names and brief biographies of individuals (“Published Information” ) being considered for participation in such meetings are disclosed for public notice and comment.
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The comments received by WHO through the public notice and comment process are treated confidentially and their receipt will be acknowledged through a generic email notification to the sender. Comments and perceptions brought to the knowledge of WHO through this process are an integral component of WHO’s conflict of interest assessment policy and are carefully reviewed. WHO reserves the right to discuss information received through this process with the relevant expert with no attribution to the provider of such information. Upon review and assessment of the information received through this process, WHO, in its sole discretion, may take appropriate management action in accordance with its policies.
The participation of an expert in a WHO meeting does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization nor does it create a binding relationship between the expert and WHO.
The list of participating experts, a summary of relevant interests disclosed by such experts, and any appropriate mitigation measures taken by WHO relating to the management of conflicts of interests, will be reported publically in accordance with WHO practice.