Nominations Invited for 2013 Honor Awards
The Council has asked the ABSA Awards Committee to seek nominations for the 2013 ABSA Honor Awards, to be presented at the 56th Annual Biological Safety Conference, October 17 - 23, 2013. All ABSA members are encouraged to submit nominations for the awards, to be received no later than June 1, 2013.
The three honor awards for which nominations are being sought are Arnold G. Wedum Distinguished Achievement Award, the Everett Hanel, Jr. Presidential Award, and the John H. Richardson Special Recognition Award. You are strongly encouraged to submit the completed nomination form(s) on-line as indicated on the web site. Alternatively, you may transmit the form(s) directly to the ABSA Office (info@absa.org or fax 847-566-4580), who will then confirm receipt of the document. Letters of recommendation are no longer required.
The ABSA Awards Committee will review nominations for the three honor awards and will recommend candidates to the Council for its consideration. The Awards Committee may choose to make, if appropriate, more than one recommendation or no recommendation for an award. Presentation of awards will take place at the ABSA annual meeting, and the recipients will be notified in sufficient time to allow them to attend the meeting. The names of the award winners will be posted on the ABSA Web site and published in Applied Biosafety.
ABSA Biosafety Honor Awards
Arnold G. Wedum
Distinguished Achievement Award
2012 Recipient
Debra Hunt, DrPH, RBP, CBSP, Duke University, Durham, NC
Arnold G. Wedum is revered as the person most responsible for creating the biosafety profession. He was a caring and wonderful mentor for many of the early leaders of ABSA. His traits of determination and persistence served biosafety well. He was one of the first to publish papers on how infectious aerosols were created in the lab and how to control those aerosols. He was a brilliant man whose knowledge of biological safety was sought by the leaders of the United State's biological research community. The NIH Advisory Committee valued his council regarding safety practices appropriate to recombinant DNA research.
Dr. Wedum's intellect, his deliberate and careful style in assessing hazards, and his vast experience remain instructive to all of us today. He brought to light the fundamental concepts of our profession. His lifelong efforts promoted occupational health and safety in infectious disease research and gave our profession credibility and a valid scientific relevance.
In recognition of outstanding work that provided greater knowledge in the field of biosafety, the Arnold G. Wedum Distinguished Achievement Award was established in 1976.
The Arnold G. Wedum Distinguished Achievement Award is given to an active ABSA member, or emeritus, for outstanding contributions to biological safety accomplished through teaching, research, service, or leadership.
Everett Hanel, Jr.
Presidential Award
2012 Recipient
Murray Cohen, PhD, CIH, Frontline Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Everett Hanel, Jr. was a member of Dr. Wedum's safety group at Fort Detrick from 1943-1972. Following his tenure there, he became the Director of the Health & Safety group at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, MD. His efforts were central in the development and perpetuation of the Biological Safety Conference and the organization we know as ABSA. In 1983 Everett was chosen to be the first President of the American Biological Safety Association. In recognition of his significant contribution to this organization throughout his lifetime career in biosafety, the Everett Hanel, Jr. Presidential Award was established in 1993.
The Everett Hanel, Jr. Presidential Award is given to a current ABSA member for outstanding contributions to the American Biological Safety Association by promoting the field of biological safety and fostering, by example, the high professional standards of the Association's membership.
John H. Richardson
Special Recognition Award
John H. Richardson was an early mentor and teacher of biological safety. He has been a prolific author of many biosafety articles as well a contributing author to many of our recognized guides to biosafety. Some of his contributory works are: coauthoring the 2nd edition of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL); contributing author to: Biosafety in the Laboratory: Prudent Practices for the Handling and Disposal of Infectious Materials (1989); contributing author to: Nonhuman Primates in Biomedical Research: Biology and Management (1995); as well as contributing author: Laboratory Safety: Principles and Practices, 2nd edition.
The John H. Richardson Special Recognition Award was developed for, and shall be given to an individual, to recognize them for a specific contribution that has enhanced the American Biological Safety Association and/or the profession of biosafety. The recipient must be a member of the American Biological Safety Association.
ABSA's Annual Recognition Awards
Richard C. Knudsen
Publication Award
2012 Recipients
Leslie C. Homer, MS, RBP, CBSP
Dennis T. Helfin
Kelly Stefano Cole, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburgh, PA
C. R. Manning, Assay Technology, Inc., Livermore, CA
Engineering and Work practice Controls for the Use of Anesthetic Gases during BSL-3 Rabbit Studies
Richard C. Knudsen did his post-doctoral studies through the National Institute of Health and the National Research Council. He became an immunologist at the Naval Medical Research facility in Bethesda, Md. In 1976, he studied swine flu virus for the USDA. Ten years later, he moved to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and later became chief of laboratory safety at the Centers for Disease Control. Dr. Knudsen was a prolific writer and had articles published in the Journal of Bacteriology; Journal of Virological Methods; Journal of Experimental Medicine; Journal of General Virology; Journal of Immunology; Journal of Immunological Methods; and Applied Microbiology to name but a few. He assisted with the preparation of the Interim Biosafety Guidelines for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. He also finalized a plan that reflected the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation and CDC. This document proposed that U.S. diagnostic specimen shipments should be regulated and that diagnostic specimen shipments using air transportation should be required to meet the standards of IATA Packing Instruction 650.
The Richard C. Knudsen Publication Award shall be given, when merited, to the author(s) of an article that reports a significant contribution in scientific investigation and/or health and safety, whether the authors are members or not of the Association. The article shall have been published in Applied Biosafety the year preceding the award. The nomination for this award is made by a committee formed by two members of the Publications Committee as well as two members of the Awards Committee.
Arnold G. Wedum Memorial
Lecture Award
2012 Recipient
Mark R. Denison, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Title of Lecture: SARS Ten Years Later: Lessions for Science and Safety
The award shall be given to an outstanding scientist or biological safety professional whose work has contributed to a better understanding of the occupational or environmental risks associated with infectious agents or biologically-derived materials, or whose contribution has lead to the development of improved control methods in minimizing those risks.
The recipient is not required to be a member of ABSA. Candidates for the award will be chosen by the Scientific Program Committee and recommended to the Council for approval.
Eagleson
Lecture Series Award
2012 Recipient
David Schaffer, PhD, University of California- Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Title of Lecture: Directed Evolution of Designer Viral Vectors for Therapeutic Gene Delivery
The Eagleson Lecture is in memory of John M. Eagleson, Jr. The keynote speaker for the Biological Safety Conference shall be the speaker that is sponsored by the Eagleson Institute. The Eagleson Lecture Series Award recipient is selected in recognition of accomplishments that contribute to the awareness of biological hazards. The topic of the lecture shall be consistent with the mission of the Eagleson Institute, which is to promote the principles and practices of laboratory safety. The subject of the lecture shall be timely with an emphasis on emerging issues rather than the presentation of historical information. The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) shall recommend nominees to the Eagleson Institute for selection.
E. R. Griffin Foundation
Lecture Award
2012 Recipient
Ann Tourigny Turner, PhD, CAE, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Memphis TN
Title of Lecture: Power of Associations
The Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation, Inc. (the Foundation), a non-profit organization, is designed to promote safe research practices and help fund further research in the areas of zoonotic diseases. The Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation, Inc. was formed in loving memory of Beth Griffin, whose vibrant, young life was prematurely ended after contracting the rare macaque-born B virus (previously known as Herpes B Virus).
The E. R. Griffin Lecture Series Award recipient is selected in recognition of accomplishments that contribute to the awareness of biological and occupational safety. The topic of the lecture shall be consistent with the mission of the Foundation, which is to promote the safe research practices and help fund further research in the areas of zoonotic diseases.
Robert I. Gross Student Award
The Robert I. Gross Memorial Fund was established in 1991 with the receipt of a gift from Marsha Gross in memory of Robert I. Gross. This is awarded to a student in recognition of academic achievement in biological safety. The award provides a grant to a student to register, attend, and present a technical paper or poster at the annual conference. The student must be in a degree granting program at the baccalaureate or graduate level in an academic discipline or field that is relevant to biosafety. Membership in ABSA is not required.
The Scientific Program Committee selects the grant recipient from among the student applicants who submit abstracts.
Poster Awards
2012 Recipients
National Poster Award:
Benjamin Smith, Debra Brickey, PhD, CBSP, Gwynn Daniels, PhD, RBP, CBSP, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
Poster Title: Preparing for Biological exposures in an Academic Healthcare Environment
International Poster Award:
Susan Macken, Simon Parks, Jimmy Walker, Allan Bennett, Health protection Agency, Salisbury, United Kingdom
Poster Title: Re-aerosolization of Bacillus Atropheaus from Floor Materials
The award shall be given to an outstanding presentation in a poster format meeting all the criteria for Abstract, Introduction, Analysis, Results and Conclusions that convey a topic of research or other study in the area of Biosafety
Outstanding Means of Communication Citation
This citation was developed by the Training and Education Committee in 1999 to formally acknowledge high-impact and original (non-commercial) training materials submitted to the Training Exhibit at the annual ABSA Conference. The Training Exhibit display has been a valuable resource for training and education resources and ideas such as, newsletter, booklets, manuals, training handouts, videos, and books authored by biosafety professionals. To be eligible for the award, the candidate must be a member of ABSA and participate in the Training exhibit at the annual ABSA Conference by sharing their original biosafety training and education materials. The materials are evaluated on relevance to biosafety profession, creativity and originality. The award is announced and presented at the start of the last day of the Conference.
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