Biosafety in Public Health Laboratories

Ahmed Hameed Al-Tabhawee

Dr. Meryem Lemrani, PhD in Parasitology, heads the Division of Research on Communicable Diseases (RCD). She earned a Medical Entomology degree from  Institut Pasteur  in Paris in 2002. She also obtained a number of professional certificates, including a Professional certification in Biorisk management in 2017 and an IFBA Professional certification in Biosecurity in 2019.

Dr. Lemrani has extensive experience in the field of leishmaniasis, focusing on genetic polymorphism of Leishmania spp., genetic susceptibility to leishmaniasis, and field studies. From June 1993 to 1995, she worked as a researcher in the leishmaniasis lab at Morocco's Institute Pasteur. From 1995 to November 2012, she worked as a researcher and the head of the IP Morocco Leishmaniasis Lab. Since November 2012, she has served as Research Director and Head of the Research Division on Communicable Diseases at Morocco's Institute Pasteur.

Dr. Lemrani has worked with a number of international organizations and coordinated a number of projects. She was a Principal Investigator or a partner on several   projects funded by Morocco's Institut Pasteur, the National Center of Scientific Research and Technology (CNRST), and international organizations: Pasteur Institutes International Network, CRDF Global, WHO-EMRO/COMSTECH, USAID-NAS, H2020-MSCA-RISE European Union.

Dr. Tarek AL Sanouri is EMPHNET’s Disease Control and Prevention Team leader. His role is to oversee technical and administrative tasks related to planning, coordination, execution, monitoring and evaluation of project activities pertaining to Biosafety, Biosecurity, Biorisk management and laboratory.

He holds 14 years of experience which he gained from the Central Public Health Laboratory of the Jordan Ministry of Health. Prior to joining EMPHNET, he was the Head of Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) where he coordinated and monitored laboratory work and activities related to public health, outbreak investigation and disease surveillance, laboratory quality management system and laboratory network. He also worked with international organizations where he was a consultant to the World Health Organization on laboratory quality management, Biorisk management, laboratory networking and laboratory core capacities for International Health Regulations. He also represented Jordan’s Ministry of Health in meetings, conferences and workshops as a speaker and trainer on laboratory based surveillance, food borne and other pathogens detection and subtyping , Influenza and other respiratory viruses ‘surveillance and diagnosis.

As project Manager for West Africa Project supported by Biosecurity Engagement Program to promote security of biological samples in three countries affected by Ebola outbreaks, he is working on many topics related to Global health security agenda (GHSA).

Dr.Tarek holds a PhD in Microbiology from National Medical University in Ukraine /Kiev/1997

Maysoon Alzubairy

Prof. Aamer Ikram is an Executive Director National Institute of Health Pakistan.

Prof. Ikram graduated (MBBS) in 1987; did Diploma in Pathology (1990); MCPS (1991); Fellowship (FCPS) Microbiology (1998); clinical training in the UK (2005); and Ph.D. 2014. Qualified Diploma Occupational Safety Health & Environments; Diploma Disaster Management; Certificate in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the University of Iowa; Dual-Use Biosecurity from Bradford University. Excelled in the fields of biosafety, biosecurity, and infection control accomplishing courses from Harvard, Oxford, South Florida, Iowa, Chester, Bradford, UN, WHO, CDC, ABSA, etc. Attained Registered Biosafety Professional (RBP) from American Biological Safety Association (US); Biosafety Professional (BSP) from Institute of Safety in Technology & Research (UK); and IFBA Certified Professional status. Awarded FRCP by Royal College Edinburgh (2012); FRCPath by Royal College of Pathologists London (2014); and Fellowship in Public Health from Royal Colleges UK (2018).

Prof. Ikram Holds multiple national and international portfolios including Chair Board of Directors International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA); member of Biosecurity & Health Security Interface Group WHO. Selected as member Executive Board IANPHI; Global Health Delivery Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health; adjunct faculty Emory University; Executive Council of International Society for Infectious Diseases; Ex-International Ambassador Society for Healthcare Epidemiology America. He is President of Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA); Ex-President Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Society (MMIDSP); Focal Point of Expertise for Medical Research, Higher Education Commission; Convener Microbiology Pakistan Health Research Council; and member of multiple National Working Groups. Actively engaged in academics and research. Has been Chief Editor of Infectious Diseases Journal Pakistan; and member of editorial boards of various national and international journals. 

Prof. Ikram has more than 300 publications to his credit. Conferred national awards of Hilal-e-Imtiaz (M) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (M); received ‘Biosafety Heroes Award’ from IFBA.

Dr. Halima Benbouza- is an Algerian scientist in the field of agronomic sciences and biological engineering. She received her doctorate in 2004 from the University Agro BioTech Gembloux, Belgium studying Plant Breeding and Genetics and was offered a postdoctoral position to work on a collaborative project with the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture in Stoneville, Mississippi. Subsequently, Dr. Benbouza was funded by Dow Agro Science to study Fusarium wilt resistance in cotton. In 2009 she was awarded the Special Prize Eric Daugimont et Dominique Van der Rest by the University Agro BioTech Gembloux, Belgium. Dr. Benbouza is Professor at Batna 1 University where she teaches graduate and postgraduate students in the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Agronomy. She also supervises Master’s and PhD students.

From 2010-2016, Dr. Benbouza served as inaugural Director of the Biotechnology Research Center (CRBt) in Constantine, appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. In 2011, she was appointed by the Algerian government as President of the Intersectoral Commission of Health and Life Sciences. Dr. Benbouza is a member of the Algerian National Council for Research Evaluation and a past member of the Sectorial Permanent Board of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

In 2013, Dr. Benbouza was appointed by the Prime Minister as President of the steering committee of Algeria’s Biotech Pharma project. In 2014 she was honored by the US Embassy in Algiers as one of the “Women in Science Hall of Fame” for her research achievements and her outstanding contribution to promote research activities and advance science in her country.

In 2016, she was honored by the Algerian Ministry of Communication for the "culture of merit.” In the same year, she was chosen as one of the 6 best African Women Scientists by the "Next Einstein Forum (NEF)," a pan-African education organization. Due to her contributions in promoting a culture of responsible science and research integrity in Algeria’s higher education, she was appointed representative of Algeria to UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Commission of Bioethics (IGCB). In 2017. she served on the Committee on Regional Workshops on Science and Technology Issues for the Biological Weapons Convention, convened by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. During the same year, she was distinguished by the WFS (World Forum of Science) in Jordan.

Pr. Benbouza serves as member of the Executive Committee, Pan African Congress of Ethics and Bioethics (COPAB) since 2015. In 2019, she was elected as Vice President of of the External Ethics Advisory Committee of the CRBt. In 2020 , she was selected to be a member of the national commission of ethics and deontology at the Ministry of Higher Education and National Research. In the same year, she contributed as an expert in a foresight exercise, Dual-Use /concern, under the Health Foresight Function, within the Research for Health department of the World Health Organization (WHO). Pr. Benbouza consults for a number of international organizations on biosafety and biosecurity education and serves as research reviewer on various international scientific panels.