Viral contaminants can be introduced throughout the complex biopharmaceutical manufacturing process via any number of mechanisms, including raw materials, cell banks, and manufacturing personnel. Accurate, timely Unprocessed Bulk (UPB)/Bulk harvest testing is critical not only to product safety, but also to prevent contamination of downstream processing equipment which results in lengthy and costly decontamination procedures and critical product shortages. Streamline your product development by partnering with a vendor that offers integrated testing services at a single location. This approach ensures continuous support throughout the product lifecycle and provides flexible testing solutions to address the growing complexity and diversity of biologics products.

Presenters:

	Heather Beyer, Ph.D. Manager of Viral Safety Testing Services Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing
Heather Beyer, Ph.D. is the manager of the Viral Safety Testing Services team at Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Bucknell University and her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, where she studied the molecular mechanisms of virus infection. Post graduation she focused on vaccine development in the pharmaceutical industry prior to joining Eurofins over 19 years ago. At Eurofins, she has spent almost two decades establishing and validating assays to meet client viral safety needs. Her team performs routine platform viral safety testing and also works with clients to develop assays specific to their product needs.
	Lara Strittmatter, Ph.D. Manager of the Electron Microscopy Laboratory Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing
Lara Strittmatter, Ph.D. is the manager of the Electron Microscopy Laboratory for Cell and Gene Therapy at Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing. She earned her doctorate from Miami University specializing in the use of microscopy to explore plant developmental and structural questions. Dr. Strittmatter previously served as an assistant professor and assistant manager at the Electron Microscopy Facility at the UMass Chan Medical School. With two decades of experience in electron microscopy, she continues to advance GMP electron microscopy within her current role in the Biosafety testing group.
	Noah Horn Manager of BioPharma Viral Clearance Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing
As a Manager of BioPharma Viral Clearance at Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing, Noah Horn is experienced with the breadth of the vaccine development pipeline from R&D genome editing and vaccine design to purification in process development. Noah has over ten years of experience working in various aspects of biological product development. In his nearly five years with Eurofins, he has operated in several capacities from performing viral clearance studies in the lab as a scientist to overseeing the viral clearance team as manager. Noah holds a B.S. in Biology from Grove City College.

Moderator:

	Stacie Fichthorn Senior Manager of Biosafety Testing Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing
Stacie Fichthorn is a Senior Manager within the Biosafety Testing area. Her responsibilities include the Cell & Gene Therapy laboratory and the Electron Microscopy Laboratory. She has more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience.