| Activities of the ICGEB Biosafety Unit in brief |
| In 1997 the ICGEB established a dedicated Biosafety Unit aimed at providing its Member States with services related to the safe and sustainable use of biotechnology in agriculture, and in particular to the environmental release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Unit is involved in several activities, including information dissemination and the establishment of biosafety clearing-houses (BCH), scientific training in risk assessment for the environmntal release of GMOs (capacity building and technology transfer), and co-operation with other international agencies involved in biosafety |
| Information dissemination and BCH |
| The Biosafety Bibliographic Database is an on-line, searchable collection of scientific studies on biosafety and risk assessment in biotechnology which is updated monthly; related updates are distributed to subscribers (free subscription). The database contains more that 7000 records (full reference with abstracts) of scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals since 1990. Full version of each article may be obtained via the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or by contacting the corresponding author directly (email addresses are provided when available). All articles are selected and classified by ICGEB scientists in accordance with the main topics of concern for the environmental release of GMOs. The database is also interoperable with the central portal of the Biosafety Clearing House, hosted by the Convention on Biological Diversity. |
| The Risk Assessment Searching Mechanism (RASM), is an authorative online collection of Risk Assessment documents related to official goverment decisions concerning the commercial release of GMOs, irrespective of the individual authority's CBD signatory status. It contains nearly 700 documents issued globally, relating to more than 150 different GM crops. |
| The Biosafe.Res database was developed by ICGEB in collaboration with partners in France, Germany and Hungary. It provides information regarding past and present GMO biosafety research to all worldwide stakeholders, including the general public, industry, and national and international agencies. In addition, it is helping to improve communication within the scientific community, as well as between researchers and the public at large. Tha database is now public and biosafety research projects leaders worldwide are encouraged to enter their projects directly into the database. |
| ICGEB is collaborating with the Italian Ministry of the Environment in setting up the Ministry's NATIONAL BIOSAFETY CLEARING HOUSE, which operates according to the requirements of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the European Directives on the access of information related to GMOs. Through an Agreement entered into with the Ministry, the Centre has developed a new web-based portal and has trained specialised personnel to operate the said portal from the Ministry's headquarters. |
| PUBLICATIONS. ICGEB provides access to two new scholarly publications: the "Collection of Biosafety Reviews", and the multidisciplinary international journal "Environmental Biosafety Research (EBR). The first is financially supported by the Italian Government, and is an annual compilation of scientific studies on areas of major interest for biosafety and risk assessment. They are prepared by internationally recognised scientists and summarise the state of the art in their field of expertise. Individual reviews are available for free download for the ICGEB website. The second, EBR, is the official journal of the International Society of Biosafety Research, of which the editorial office is hosted by ICGEB. |
| Biosafety Capacity Building and Technology Transfer |
| In recent years, the ICGEB has trained nearly 1000 scientists from 80 countries in semi-annual introductory biosafety workshops. Starting in 2005, it began a series of more focused workshops, aimed at designated experts working in the area of risk assessment, providing experience in examining scientific data in order to produce and evaluate a risk assessment dossier. |
| Scientific Research |
| The ICGEB Outstation at Cà Tron carries out biosafety research based on pathogen-resistant transgenic plants, including 1) the epidemiological impact of recombination between transgene mRNA expressed by virus-resistant transgenic plants and infecting viral genomes, and 2) a focus on the genetic basis for interactions between rice and several of its bacterial pathogens, including species of Xanthomonas and Burkholderia. Both these research areas integrate the training of scientists from developing countries at post-Doctoral levels. |
| The ICGEB Biosafety Unit: |
| Decio Ripandelli - Director, Administration and External Relations - Head of the Biosafety Unit
Wendy Craig - Staff Research Scientist
Giuliano Degrassi - Staff Research Scientist
Francesca Farolfi - Senior Administrative Assistant
Alexander Ochem - Staff Research Scientist
Vanga Siva Reddy -Group Leader - Plant Biology: Plant Transformation, ICGEB New Delhi
Anna Russo - Consultant
Mark Tepfer - Scientific Co-ordinator of the Biosafety Outstation
|