Program Information

Join us for an exciting program featuring keynote speakers, panel discussion, technical presentations, and highlights of ChABSA's recent accomplishments. The day also includes dedicated breaks to network with fellow professionals and engage with exhibitors showcasing the latest innovations in biosafety and biosecurity.

Held at the scenic and centrally located Universities at Shady Grove, the Symposium promises a full day of learning, networking, and building meaningful connections.

Travel Information

The 2026 ChABSA Annual Scientific Symposium will be held in Building 4 (Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Facility).

9631 Gudelsky Drive

Rockville, MD 20850

You may park at Parking Lot 2 in front of Building 4. Overflow parking is available at the Traville Parking Garage. A map is provided here.

Door Prizes

Attendees will have the opportunity to win door prizes. Must be present to win.

Food and Beverage

A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided to all registered attendees. Coffee and tea breaks in the exhibitor area will be provided.

Speaker Bios

Kelly Schultz, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Tech Council

Kelly Schulz is a mother, wife, successful small business owner, and served seven years in Governor Hogan’s administration as the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Commerce. She currently serves as the CEO of the Maryland Tech Council.

In her most recent role as Secretary of Commerce, Kelly oversaw the state’s primary economic development agency, responsible for attracting new businesses, job growth, and workforce development. Under Kelly’s leadership, the department also served as the largest resource to provide financial assistance to struggling Maryland companies adversely impacted by COVID-19.

Prior to entering her career in public service, Kelly was always focused on her community. While raising her boys, Kelly put herself through college and worked as a server and bartender in the evenings and on weekends, yet always made time to serve on the school PTA and to volunteer with Brandon and Bradley’s sports teams.

Kelly went on to work as a program manager for a defense contractor and then became a partner in opening a small business – a cybersecurity firm.

Wanting to continue to serve her community, Kelly was successfully elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Frederick County. As a Delegate, Kelly took her knowledge and experience as a small businesswoman and served on the Economic Matters Committee where she focused on legislation relating to banks and other financial institutions, business occupations and professions, economic development, labor and employment, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.

Recognized by newly-elected Governor Hogan for her knowledge and expertise on economic matters, she was appointed as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) in 2015. At DLLR Kelly managed nearly 2,000 employees and oversaw an annual budget of $375 million.

Under her leadership, Maryland’s apprenticeship program grew to its highest level since 2008, with more than 10,000 apprentices statewide and received national recognition as one of the top programs in America. Additionally, Kelly worked tirelessly to work with businesses regulated within the department to have a clear voice on how to work successfully within the state as a partner as opposed to the preexisting adversarial relationship.

In 2018, after Governor Hogan’s reelection, Kelly assumed her role in the Department of Commerce where she continued her positive approach to building relationships with a variety of industries to improve their opportunities within the state. Kelly likes to promote Prosperity with a Purpose – bringing more opportunities to the state has an effect on those that would not otherwise have opportunities.

Rebecca Bradford, MBA, MS, PMP, Senior Vice President, ATCC Federal Solutions

Rebecca Bradford is a senior public health and biomanufacturing leader with deep expertise in biosafety and biosecurity. She has more than two decades of experience advancing U.S. and global health security. As Senior Vice President of Federal Solutions at ATCC, she leads strategy and growth for government programs that support infectious disease research, biosurveillance, and medical countermeasure development. She also oversees the high‑quality development of biological materials that form the foundation of safe, compliant, and resilient biomanufacturing.

Her work focuses on delivering speed, scale, accessibility, quality, and system resilience across critical public health programs. Over her career, she has led teams through major public health emergencies, including H1N1, Zika, COVID‑19, and ongoing global efforts against Malaria, while managing challenges such as global supply chain disruptions, large‑scale distribution demands, and the urgent need for safe, stable, and accessible biological materials. Her systems‑level perspective emphasizes partnership with government agencies, nonprofits, academia, and industry to support safe research environments and enable robust biosafety and biosecurity practices.

Currently, she and her team are working to guide the development of ATCC’s Centennial Biomanufacturing Center, which expands the nation’s capacity for high quality, reliable, U.S. based biomanufacturing. She has been instrumental in shaping the Center’s strategic approach to reliability, secure operations, and future‑ready infrastructure to support biosecurity and preparedness efforts.

Bradford holds an MBA, an MS in Bioinformatics, and an MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. She began her scientific career at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, conducting retinal disease research before transitioning into strategic leadership roles that bridge science, operations, and public health readiness.

Daniel Eisenman, PhD, RBP, SM(NRCM), CBSP, Executive Director, Biosafety Services, Advarra

Dan Eisenman is Executive Director of Biosafety Services at Advarra, a large clinical research compliance company. Dan heads a commercial IBC overseeing over 1,600 clinical and basic science research sites. Prior to joining Advarra Dan was the Biosafety Officer at the Medical University of South Carolina and UNC Chapel Hill. Dan holds a PhD in molecular biology and immunology, various biosafety certifications (RBP, SM(NRCM), CBSP) and a Regulatory Affairs Pharmaceuticals certificate from the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS). He is a member of the Editorial Board for Applied Biosafety and frequently speaks at major conferences on topics involving biosafety, gene therapy and clinical trials.

Ami Patel, MRIGlobal

Dr. Patel is a biosafety and biosecurity expert who currently leads the safety, biosafety and surety program at MRIGlobal’s Gaithersburg location specializing in emerging technology risk assessments and regulatory compliance. With extensive experience spanning academia, public health, and industry, she has led programs supporting infectious disease research, infectious diseases diagnostics & surveillance, and pandemic response initiatives. Her professional experience include research on high-consequence zoonotic pathogens in high biocontainment laboratories (BSL-3/ABSL-3) directing medical countermeasures and vaccine development and overseeing scientific and laboratory operations at academic and public health institutions. In her current role, she also serves as an SME to senior leadership and government clients on internal biosafety/biosecurity policy development, dual-use research oversight, and public health emergency response.

Sean Roark, President, Porter Creek Instruments

Sean Roark is the President of Porter Creek Instruments and the Sales Rep covering Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. He is factory trained equipment specialist with The Baker Company, CURIS System, The Mopec Group and CellTreat. His formal training is a BS degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park. Porter Creek Instruments is a manufacturers’ representative that sells and services laboratory equipment. We concentrate our efforts in the life science and life science related fields primarily including: Hospital Pathology, Microbiology, Cell Culture, Veterinary Hospitals and Medical Research Facilities, University Biology and Anatomy Departments.

Nathalie Fowler, Senior Scientist, MRIGlobal

Nathalie Fowler is a Senior Scientist in the Integrated Health, Surveillance, and Diagnostics R&D group at MRIGlobal, located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In her current role, Nathalie leads technical teams conducting late-stage research and development, as well as validation & verification studies, with a focus on infectious diseases and biothreat organisms.

Nathalie began her career at Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Production Technician, where she prepared ELISA kits, before joining MRIGlobal in 2017. Throughout her time, she has built expertise in developing assays for biosurveillance of environmental samples and in performing validation & verification studies for high-consequence pathogens in Biosafety Level 3 laboratories.

In addition to her research contributions, Nathalie has served for the past 6 years in a leadership position within MRIGlobal-Gaithersburg’s Federal Select Agent Program as the Select Agent Custodian. She is a self-described continuous improver; consistently identifying laboratorian pain points and collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to make the process better. Nathalie holds a bachelor's degree from the University of the South and is currently studying at George Mason University for her master’s.

Robert J. Hawley, Ph.D., RBP, SM (NRCM), CBSP, Independent Consultant in Biological Safety and Security

Throughout my career I endeavored to share my biosafety and biodefense experiences with my colleagues and with domestic and foreign agencies on issues of safety, biosafety, biosecurity, public health and microbiological research. After serving with the U.S. Government at USAMRIID, I joined Midwest Research Institute Global in Frederick, Maryland.  I provided biosafety threat and risk assessments and recommendations and designs for new and existing biological containment laboratories, veterinary facilities, and disease surveillance systems for human, animal, and plant diseases for both national and international facilities.  I worked with the WHO, FBI, CDC, HHS, USDA, DHS and the EPA.  I was honored to serve as President of ABSA International, President of ChABSA, and as Chair of the Board of the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists.

Sherry Bohn, PhD, MS, CBSP, Executive Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Maryland, Baltimore

Dr. Sherry Bohn serves as the Executive Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where she leads a comprehensive program supporting research, healthcare, and academic operations. With extensive expertise in biosafety, biosecurity, and risk assessment, she is a recognized leader in advancing practical, evidence-based approaches to laboratory safety across diverse settings.

Sherry is a past President of both ChABSA and ABSA International and has contributed globally to biosafety education, policy development, and professional collaboration. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation of safety professionals and fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and innovation in environmental health and safety.

Joseph P. Kozlovac, M.S., RBP, CBSP, Agency Biological Safety Officer, Animal Production and Protection, Office of National Programs, USDA ARS

Joe is a biosafety professional with 39 years of experience and has worked in the biotechnology industry, academia and federal sector.  Mr. Kozlovac is a Registered Biosafety Professional (RBP) and a Certified Biological Safety Professional (CBSP) through the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA). Joe has a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, PA and a M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.  Additionally, Mr. Kozlovac is a graduate of the Key Executive Leadership Certificate Program at the American University in Washington D.C. 

Awards include 2018, Arnold G. Wedum Distinguished Achievement Award (ABSA), 2016 Award for Excellence from Under Secretary of Defense for exceptionally meritorious service in support of the Anthrax response efforts and improving DoD’s biological defense program, 1st recipient of the ChABSA Biosafety Professional of the Year Award (2015),  2009 Everett Hanel Jr. Presidential Award (ABSA).  Joe is currently employed at the USDA ARS where he is responsible for developing biosafety policy for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and assisting ARS locations in implementing these policies, and other biosafety guidelines and regulations. Joe served as Chair and led the development of the scientific program for the USDA ARS International Biosafety and Biocontainment symposium series.  

Joe  has Co-Chaired various Interagency Working groups with a focus on biorisk management such as the  NSTC Health Security Threats Subcommittee working group which developed the Evidence-Based Laboratory Biorisk Management Science & Technology Roadmap published by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and co-chaired the group that developed the USG Joint Capabilities Plan for Innovation in Personal Protective Equipment and the Built Environment in support of the National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan for Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security.  Joe has also been a contributing member of the core writing group for ISO Technical Committee 212 Working Group 5, which developed ISO 35001:2019 – Biorisk Management in Laboratories and currently developing the implementation guidance for ISO35001. Mr. Kozlovac led the development of Appendix D in the HHS publication Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, as well authored several textbook chapters and peer reviewed articles on a variety of biorisk management topics. Joe has been involved in several high and maximum containment facility design projects including USAMRIID, National Bio-Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) and the National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Ga. 

Prior to coming on board with the USDA, Joe served as the Biosafety Officer at the NCI-Frederick Cancer Research Center, Fort Detrick, MD, as Associate Biosafety Officer at Johns Hopkins Institutions and Deputy Biosafety Officer at the University of Maryland at Baltimore.  Prior to being a Biosafety Officer Joe supervised the operation of 3 large GMP production, BSL-3 enhanced laboratories producing viral antigen for HIV and HTLV-1 diagnostics.

Other professional activities have included provided biosafety training to >850 Pakistani Scientists as part of an effort by the State Department’s Biosecurity Engagement Program and served as a consultant to the U.S. State Department on the Technical Review Committee for the decontamination of an anthrax contaminated mailbag facility in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Co-directed a course on agroterrorism defense and maintained a part-time faculty appointment in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.