About BSAA

The Biosafety Administrators Association (BSAA) is dedicated to advancing biosafety programs through education, collaboration, and professional development. Our programs are designed to provide practical, actionable guidance to help institutions strengthen compliance and enhance research safety.

Program Overview

Biosafety programs are entering a period of significant transformation.

With the National Institutes of Health advancing efforts to modernize the regulations, and broader expectations for institutional oversight evolving, organizations will soon be expected to demonstrate stronger, more transparent, and more integrated biosafety programs.

Before implementing change, however, institutions must first answer a fundamental question:

Where does your program truly stand today?

This webinar introduces a practical, grassroots approach to biosafety program development - beginning with an unbiased, gap-focused assessment of your current state. Rather than relying on long-standing structures or assumptions, participants will explore how to evaluate their programs objectively, identify gaps, and prepare for what’s ahead.

Drawing from a scalable, bottom-up framework, this session will help attendees:

• Understand what is actually occurring in their laboratories - not just what is documented
• Identify gaps in oversight, authority, and operational alignment
• Evaluate programs against their intended purpose and institutional risk profile
• Break down silos and rethink legacy structures that may limit effectiveness
• Recognize and manage conflicts of interest, including those based on public perception
• Begin positioning their programs for regulatory readiness and transparency

In today’s environment, compliance alone is not enough. Biosafety programs must be structured in a way that is not only effective but also trusted.

This session will help you take the first step toward building a program that is both.

Who Should Attend

• Biosafety Officers and Biosafety Professionals
• IBC Administrators and Members
• Research Compliance and EHS Professionals
• Institutional Leadership involved in research oversight
• Anyone responsible for or supporting biosafety program development

Agenda / What We’ll Discuss

This session will walk participants through a structured progression from defining the ideal program to evaluating current state and preparing for future expectations:

1. Defining the Target State: What Should Your Biosafety Program Look Like?

2. Baseline Discovery: Understanding What Actually Exists

3. Practical Risk Framing

4. Grassroots Controls: Building a Functional Starting Point

5. Program Structure & Core Components

6. Integration Across the Institution

7. Gap Analysis: Evaluating Your Current Program

8. Managing Conflicts of Interest in Program Oversight

9. Validation, Metrics & Continuous Improvement

10. Preparing for What’s Next: Regulatory Readiness

Why Attend

✔ Prepare for upcoming regulatory changes
✔ Gain a clear framework for assessing your current program
✔ Identify gaps before they become compliance risks
✔ Learn how to build a more transparent and integrated biosafety program
✔ Walk away with practical strategies you can begin applying immediately

The program will be held at 3:00 - 4:30 PM Eastern Time