REPORT
FIRST SYMPOSIUM ON BIOSAFTY, BIOSECURITY AND BIOETHICS
MAY 22, 23 & 24, 2015.
I. Preparations for the symposium
The topics were defined and potential speakers were identified. One of the aims was to have both local
and US speakers so that interactions resulting in exchange of ideas could occur. Thanks to the US State
Department and CRDF, 3 US speakers participated.
In as much as local speakers were concerned, it was attempted to be as diverse as possible with
respect to institution representation. Participants from American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanese
American university (LAU), Lebanese University (LA), University of Balamand (UOB), Haigazian University
(HU), Université Saint Joseph (USJ)/Hotel Dieu De France (HDF), Notre Dame University (NDU),
Université Saint Esprit de Kaslik (USEK)/ Lebanese Association for the Advancement of Science (LAAS),
Private Medical Laboratory representative were selected (Table I & 2). It was also attempted to have
diversity with respect to academic degrees including levels of education. Participants included 17 MDs,
22 Ph.D.s, 8 MSs, 6 BSs in an MS graduate program and 2 JD (lawyers) (Table 3).
The key note speakers included Deputy Dr. Atef Majdalani, member of the Lebanese parliament and
head of the parliament committee on health affairs, Dr. Ara Tahmassian, Harvard university, Dr. Naim
Ouaini, USEK/LAAS (represented by Dr. Abdo Jurjus, treasurer of LAAS, Dr. Ouaini was out of town).
Initially, Deputy Dr. Basem Shaab, LAU and member of Lebanese parliament was among the keynote
speakers but due to unforeseen private matter he couldn’t attend. Mr. Evan Maher, from the US
Embassy was invited to participate but he sent his regrets being that he would be out of town. The Vice
President of Jordan University, Dr. Azmi Mouhafaza, was going to participate but a last minute regret
statement was received from him.
II.
The opening session
Dr. Abdelnoor started by explaining how he came about to establish the Lebanese Association for
Biosafety, Biosecurity and Bioethics (LABBB) with support coming from the US State Department and
CRDF. The mission and vision of the association was defined and the purpose of the symposium was
stated. It was stressed that the association was a national activity and not an AUB activity, since some
were under the wrong impression that because Dr. Abdelnoor is an AUB faculty it must be an AUB
activity. Becoming a member of the association was encouraged.
III.
Keynote Speakers

Dr. Majdalani, MD, deputy, head of the health affairs committee in Lebanese parliament; gave his
presentation in Arabic. He pointed out the obstacles he had faced in trying to establish a food
safety law. He stated that the proposed law has reached its final stages and needs legislation by
parliament. In the future he will be working on the establishment of a Lebanese Food and Drug
Association (LFDA).
IV.

Dr. Tahmassian, Ph.D., Chief Compliance Officer at Harvard University; talked about his research
project entitled "building university capacity in responsible science in a scientific collaboration".
The purpose of his project was to build a mentoring program for young and early career scientists
in the region. In a number of AAAS meetings dealing with mentoring of young scientists Dr.
Abdelnoor had mentioned that a definition of "young scientist" is needed. In Aras presentation he
finally defined the term "young scientist". Another point made in the question/comments section
of his presentation was that some of the young scientists in the region are weak in the English
language. I stated that either teach them English or you learn Arabic as a pre-requisite.
Participation of Dr. Tahmassian in the symposium supported his aim to make contact with
individuals who might be interested in his project on mentorship.

Dr. Abdo Jurjus, Ph.D., AUB, (representing the president of LAAAS, Dr. Naim Ouaini) talked about
biosafety measures in the laboratory and the animal housing facility. His logo was safety and
sciences go hand in hand.
Biosafety session 1
The speakers in this session included Dr. Adel Mastori, Dr. George Araj, Ms. Lynn Fondren and Dr.
George Nemer.

Dr. Adel Mastori, owner of a medical laboratory and Dr. George Araj, director of the clinical
microbiology laboratory at AUB talked about biosafety measures in medical/microbiology
laboratories in Lebanon. It was pointed out that accreditation of hospitals including biosafety
measures in hospital laboratories was legislated. Adel was anticipating that the practice of
biosafety measures in private medical laboratories would be implemented.
Comments concerning Biosafety measures in laboratories in Lebanon: although a risk
assessment policy exists there does not seem to be a monitoring system to assess the
implementation of biosafety measures. A director of a hospital medical laboratory stated that
ever since accreditation of hospitals was introduced at no time was his laboratory inspected by
government biosafety officers. It is worth noting that accreditation of hospitals that includes
biorisk management does not include research laboratories.

Ms. Lynn Fondren, MS, CIH Sandai National Laboratories, talked about Federal regulations and
guidelines for acceptable levels of practice in laboratories and how risk assessments form the
basis for institutional oversight.

The fourth speaker in this session was Dr. George Nemer, Ph.D., AUB, a molecular biologist who
belongs to a research department. He talked about the NIH guidelines related to the use of
recombinant DNA/RNA in living organisms. He went on to say that Lebanon does not have
guidelines/policies that govern the use of recombinant DNA/RNA in living cells and would
anticipate legislation of such policies in the near future.
V.
Biosafety session II
This session dealt with biosafety measures in the Hospital.

Dr. Jacques Mokhbat, MD, LAU, an infectious disease specialist, talked about hospital acquired
infections, attempts to decrease them, and resistance to antimicrobial agents. He claimed that
a major reason for the emergence of resistance strains was the abuse and misuse of
antimicrobial agents. He noted that antimicrobial agents can be purchased without a
prescription and legislation is needed to prevent this. A point that was brought up was that in a
recent article published in SCIENCE the authors provide evidence that resistant genes originate
from microbes found in the soil. Would it be possible that these genes are imported into the
hospital with food?

Dr. Raja Haddad, MD, AUB, a thoracic and cardiac surgeon talked about biosafety measures
taken in the operating room. These included operating room space, personnel, patient hygiene,
antibiotic prophylaxis, disinfection of instruments, equipment and floors and aeration. He
defined the aim as attaining acceptable incidence of surgical wound infections. Dr. Haddad was
asked if it is allowable to request lab tests such as HIV and hepatitis on patients prior to surgery
and if positive, are there additional precautions to be taken? This question was asked because
one thoracic surgeon ended up with hepatitis and liver cirrhosis and needed a liver transplant
and two neurosurgeons end up with severe neurological disease thought to be due to a virus.
His reply that consent by the patient would be required and if consent is given and the test is
positive then extra precautions are needed.

Dr. Fayez Abillama, MD, LAU an intensive care specialist talked about biosafety measures in an
intensive care unit. These included appropriate design and construction of isolation facilities.
VI- Biosafety session III
This session dealt with food safety, wild life and zoonosis.

Dr. Antoine Farhat, Ph.D., NDU, talked about the exposure of foods to many pathogens, toxic
metals, veterinary drugs, pesticide sprays. In addition he talked about the potential hazards of
genetically modified foods.

Dr. Fawwak Sleiman, Ph.D., former professor of animal sciences, AUB, talked about zoonotic
infections, in particular Brucellosis which is the most common. According to the ministry of
health about 300 human cases of Brucellosis is reported each year. However, the number could
be higher because of the Syrian refugees entering Lebanon with their Livestock.

Dr. Peter Smallwood, Ph.D. Richmond University, talked about biosafety and bioethics in
relation to wildlife in the US. He indicated that in the US biosafety and bioethics for research on
laboratory animals are regulated by CDC and NIH. When wildlife is brought to the laboratory,
regulations to protect researchers from infectious agents apply. However, there are risks other
than encountering an infection, such as the strength of the wildlife (eg alligator) or venoms
(snakes), and there are no regulations to guide researchers. This applies to work in the field as
well. Moreover, CDC and NIH regulations are intended for vertebrate and not to invertebrates.

VI.
Ms. Nayla Akl, MS, research assistant, AUB talked about the zoonotic diseases in animals and
humans that require accurate reporting to the ministry of public health for prevalence studies
and awareness, in addition to appropriate testing and safe handling of samples from diseased
cases in laboratory. Zoonotic infections discussed were rabies, toxoplasmosis, brucellosis and
leptospirosis.
Bioethics
This session dealt with an IRB, an animal care facility and medical ethics.

Dr. Deborrah Mukherji, MD, from AUB talked about IRB and the ethical principles of the
Belmont report (respect for persons, beneficence, justice, informed consent, assessment of risks
and benefits, selection of subjects). She then discussed the structure and function of the IRB and
the responsibility of the researcher and institution within the context of the Lebanese law. A
point that was brought up: sometimes there is a lack of coordination between a granting agency
and IRB. At times a proposal is approved and funded by the granting agency and has not yet
received approval by IRB. Deborrah responded that there were such cases and attempts are
being made to remedy them.

Dr. Abdo Jurjus, Ph.D. from AUB talked about the animal care facility The main goal of the
animal care facility as stated by Dr. Jurjus is to ensure that healthy animals are available for use
by faculty members and students who have received approval to perform research or teaching
on animal subjects. Additionally, Abdo stated that alternatives to using live animals in research
should be considered when possible. All research proposals that make use of animals need the
approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Dr. Bassam Barakat, MD, former professor at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore, at
present a volunteer lecturer on medical ethics at the University of Balamand. Dr. Bassam talked
about medical ethics. He claimed that there is a large gap between scientific capabilities and
ethical guidelines. Economic greed enters the picture and when a problem of ethics arises
religious, cultural, legal, political, sociological and psychological influences are involved.
VII- Research misconduct and collaborative research
This session dealt with true cases of misconduct, and means of dealing with such cases. In addition,
ethical problems associated with collaboration were discussed.

Dr. Alexander Abdelnoor, Ph.D., AUB, research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification,
plagiarism, impersonation. About 11 true examples that fall under misconduct were mentioned.
Are there institutional or governmental policies that handle misconduct? Dr. Abdelnoor asked
Drs. Ara Tahmassian and Dr. Elie Chaer who were to present next to answer this question.

Dr. Ara Tahmassian, Ph.D., Harvard University added that research misconduct also includes
mistreatment of human or animal subjects in research, conflict of interest, laboratory biosafety,
biosecurity and others... He mentioned the misconduct cases of Diederik Alexander Stapel,
Dipak Kumar Das and Haruko Obokata that made the headlines and had an impact on the
integrity of the scientific community. He talked about the Harvard approach to research
misconduct. He emphasized the role of faculty and students taking a proactive role in ensuring
responsible conduct in research.
VII.

Dr. Elie Chaer, Ph. D., JD, AUB, indicated that dealing with research misconduct varies among
institutions in Lebanon. To establish misconduct a number of criteria must be met; the act must
be intentional, it must be proven by evidence. In Lebanon a number of institutions have
introduced internal policies that deal with research misconduct. However, there is a need for a
national policy to deal with research misconduct.

Dr. Elias Rahal, Ph.D., AUB, dealt with ethical issues pertaining to collaboration, authorship and
ownership. Dr. Rahal suggested that collaborators should document an agreement prior to
initiating the collaboration indicating the role of each. He concluded that collaborations may
elevate the value of research when properly designed.
Biosecurity (dual purpose research)
This session dealt with Biosecurity aspects. In addition the utilization of social media to aware the public
and health professional was discussed.

Ms. Lynn Fondren, MS, CIH Sandai National Laboratories, started by defining biosecurity, biorisk,
dual purpose research. The five pillars of Biosecurity risk were defined. They included physical
security, personnel management, material control and accountability, transport security and
information security. It was concluded that biorisk = biosafety + biosecurity+ research excellence
+ ethics. The research community, professional societies, should be aware of the potential
misuse of biological material.
Commenting on this presentation it was mentioned that some institutions such as CDC screen
manuscripts to see if the contents of the manuscript could be put to harmful use. Such a
screening process does not exist in institutions in Lebanon.

Dr. Nabil Hokayem, MD, Hotel Dieu de France/ St. Joseph University. Dr. Hokayem is a plastic
surgeon who uses the botulinum toxin (Botox) for cosmetic surgery. Botox is available
commercially and in Lebanon you can purchase almost any medication without a prescription.
Since it can be used as a biological weapon, terrorists can easily get a hold of it. However, it was
pointed out that large doses that would cost millions of dollars would be needed to serve the
terrorist purpose.

Dr. Alfred Riachi, Ph.D., Saint Joseph University, talked about utilizing marketing and social
media to aware the health personnel and public about biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics.
IX- Emerging infectious diseases in Lebanon.
This session dealt with emerging infectious diseases in Lebanon following the entrance of Syrian
refugees.

VIII.
This was the last session of the symposium and was handled by three infectious disease
specialists; Dr. Jacques Mokhbat (LAU), Dr. Abdel Rahman Bizri (AUB) and Dr. Pierre Abi Hanna
(LU). Hepatitis A, Tuberculosis, Leishmania, Measles and polio cases appeared among the Syrian
refugees and in some cases among Lebanese. Means of controlling hepatitis A, Measles,
tuberculosis, and polio was by carrying out vaccination campaigns.
Conclusions
This symposium appeared to enlighten participants concerning the need to adhere to biosafety,
biosecurity and bioethics issues. Interest in joining the association was expressed by a number of
participants. Discussions were held between US and Lebanese participants both during sessions and
during coffee breaks. It is worth noting that some participants had supported that we publish a
proceeding of the meeting. Ms. Lynn Fondren asked me in what way or ways could the association work
with Sandia National Laboratories. My reply was that we can start by having exchange visits to get to
know the people that we are going to collaborate with. However, State Department restrictions on
travel to Lebanon would be an obstacle. Suggestions made by Lynn were that we can meet in another
country or remotely.
It appears that policies pertaining to biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics are either lacking in some
institutions in Lebanon, or if present are not being monitored. The association plans to work hand in
hand with the deputy, Dr. Atef Majdalani, head of the health committee in the Lebanese parliament to
legislate policies related to biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics. Such legislation would enforce
institutions to introduce biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics policies.
As a start, the association will behave as a biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics preacher whereby miniworkshops related to these topics will be held in institutions located in different parts of Lebanon.
Alexander M. Abdelnoor, Ph.D.
Professor & Chairperson,
Dept. of Exp. Path., Immunology and Microbiology
Faculty of Medicine, AUB
President,
Lebanese Association of Biosafety, Biosecurity and Bioethics (LABBB)
Table 1. List of participants
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344-
Ara Tahmassian, Ph.D. , Harvard University
Lynn Fondren, MS, Sandai Laboratories
Peter Smallwood, Ph.D., Richmond University
Atef Majdalani, MD, Deputy, head of Lebanese parliament committee on Health Affairs.
Bassam Barakat, MD, University of Ballamand
Antoine Farhat, Ph.D., Notre Dame University
Adel Mastori, Ph.D. , Mastori Medical Laboratories
Georges Araj, Ph.D., American University of Beirut
Goerges Nemr, Ph.D., American University of Beirut
Jacques Mokhbat, MD, Lebanese American University
Raja Haddad, MD, American University of Beirut
Fayez Abillama, MD, Lebanese American University
Nabil Hokayem, MD, Hotel de Dieu/ St. Joseph University
Fawwak Sleiman, Ph.D. , American University of Beirut
Deborrah Mukherji, MD, American University of Beirut
Abdo Jurjus, Ph.D. , American University of Beirut
Elie Al- Chaer, Ph.D. + J.D., American University of Beirut
Elias Rahal, Ph.D. , American University of Beirut
Alfred Riachi, Ph.D. St. Joseph University
Pierre Abi Hanna, MD, Lebanese University
Abdel Rahman Bizri, MD, American University of Beirut
Camille Chamoun, Pharm. D., Lebanese Canadian Hospital/ Serhal Hospital
Nadim Hassoun, Ph.D., Haigazian University and Hopital Notre Dame de Secours
Nayla Abi-Nader, J.D., Michel Abi-Nader Law office
Elie Karame, MD, Lebanese American University
Roula Abdel Massih, Ph.D., University of Balamand
Julnar Usta, Ph.D. , American University of Beirut
Margaret Shirinian, Ph.D., American University of Beirut
Isam Shehade, MD , Private Clinic
George Abdelnour, Ph.D., Haigazian University and Hopital Notre Dame de Secours
Levon Avedinian, Ph.D., Haigazian University
Roula Halabi, MS, Haigazian University
Nayla Akl, MS, American University of Beirut
Dalal Jaber, MS, American University of Beirut
Nour Salamoun, MS, American University of Beirut
Sukayna Fadlallah, MS, American University of Beirut
Marwa Chehab, MS, American University of Beirut
Kohar Kissoyan, MS, American University of Beirut
Mazen Korban, MD, American University of Beirut
Chakib Ayoub, MD, American University of Beirut
Fuad Ramadan, MD, Trad Hospital
Nathaline Haidar Ahmed, MS, Premiere Urgence NGO
Marcel Achkar, Ph.D. Private Medical Laboratory
Tarek Itani, Ph.D., Private Medical Laboratory
45464748495051525354-
Joseph Stephan, Ph.D., Colombia University, NY
Joseph Khoury, MD, Hopital Dieu du France, St. Joseph University
Doureid Oueidat, MD,
Alex Abdelnoor Ph.D., American University of Beirut
Sari Rasheed, BS, graduate student in an MS program
Mohsen El Houseini, BS, graduate student in an MS program
Yolla German, BS, graduate student in an MS program
Arax Tanelian, BS, graduate student in an MS program
Rana Jammaz, BS, graduate student in an MS program
Sara Jiche, BS, graduate student in an MS program
Table 2. Classification of Partipants based on their Institution
Institution
Harvard
Richmond
Sandia
Colombia University
American University of Beirut
Lebanese American University
University of Balamand
Haigazian University
Lebanese University
Hopital Notre Dame de Secours
Private Medical Laboratories
Hotel Dieu/ St. Joseph University
Lebanese Canadian Hospital/ Serhal Hospital
Unknown
Premiere Urgence NGO
Private clinic
Trad Hospital
Member of Parliament
*also are Haigazian University Faculty
Number of
Participants
1
1
1
1
26
3
2
4
1
2*
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
Table 3. Classification of participants based on degree
Degree
Ph.D
MD
MS
JD
BS
*One participant has a Ph.D. and JD
Number of
Participants
22
17
8
2*
6
IX.
FEEDBACKS
1- Dear Dr. Abdelnoor,
I would like to congratulate you and the Lebanese association for biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics for
a great achievement in providing to a sizable audience a superior quality conference that equivocally
excelled in translating scientific achievements into practical issues. The program covered in a
comprehensive fashion almost all matters regarding biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics. I look forward
for a continuous effort to keep the endurance in educating our community in Lebanon and the region
which we all realize how much it is needed.
Raja Haddad, MD
2- Dear Dr. Abdelnoor,
As I mentioned to you during the LBBB symposium, I am a research scientist at Eric kandel'l lab at
Columbia university in New York, and happened to be on vacation in lebanon where I got the chance to
attend the first annual symposium of your society.
I wanted to commend you for organizing this pioneering group in the region. The stature of the
american panel present, the varied representation from all important Lebanese universities, as well as
the quality of the talks and the level of enthusiasm, make me very hopeful about the future of biosafety
and bioethics in lebanon.
Best regards,, and I hope you continue on the same path.
Joseph Stephan
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Columbia University
Eric Kandel Laboratory
New York, NY
3- Dear Alex,
I am writing to thank you for the invitation to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Lebanese
Association for Biosafety, Biosecurity and Bioethics.
From my perspective the meeting was an extremely well organized affair with a great agenda. The topics
were very well organized and covered the entire spectrum of the Association’s mission, with very high
quality and informative presentations. I thought the choice of topics, and presenters, was well done and
covered the full spectrum of biosafety and biosecurity in laboratory, agriculture and food, veterinary
medicine, all aspects of medical-clinical activities, and emerging infectious diseases. The ethics
discussions were very well organized and similarly covered a good range of topics. The discussions
during the Q&Q sessions, as well as follow-ups during the breaks, indicated that the participants had
great interest in the topic and were fully engaged. The suggestion for the Association to take a
leadership role in developing some standards and guidelines for various topics was indication of the
interest in the topic.
Again I want to congratulate you and your team for an excellent and successful forum for discussion of
various topics and wish you success in the implementation of suggestions. Looking forward to working
with you in future.
Best regards, Ara
____________________________________
Ara Tahmassian, Ph.D.
Chief Research Compliance Officer
Harvard University
1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Smith Campus Center, Suite 836
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: (617) 495-9797
Ara_Tahmassian@Harvard.Edu
Assisted by Gabi Noreña
Phone: 617.496.8301
gabriella_norena@harvard.edu
4- From: Tahmassian, Ara
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 7:23 AM
To: Alexander Abdelnoor (aanoor@aub.edu.lb)
Subject: Thank You
Dear Alex
Hope all is well with you.
I wanted to let you know that i got home safe and sound, and also wanted to thank you and Maya for
your hospitality during the stay. Please thank her again.
I truly appreciate your friendship.
Best, Ara
5- Dear Alex
The Whole thing was a total success; the organisation of the scientific program and the social gathering
both reflected professionalism and a warm spirit of friendship. I thank you for involving me in this
activity, it was quite a privilege.
It was a nice opportunity to get acquainted with interesting topics and a good occasion to meet
interesting people.
Regards to Nayla and the whole team.
My wife and myself extend our thanks to Mrs. Abdelnoor and yourself.
Regards
Adel
6- Dear Dr Abdelnoor,
I would like to express sheer gratitude for having given me the opportunity to attend the symposium
held by the Lebanese Association for Biosafety, Biosecurity and Bioethics on May 22, 2015 at Le Gabriel
Hotel.
I also wish to congratulate you for your conspicuous endeavors in organizing the event. We unanimously
were delighted with the level of knowledge we gained access to. Outspoken guidelines regarding your
goals made us fully committed to striving for its fulfillment.
Camille Chamoun
7- Thanks Alex for including me in the symposium. I have gotten rusty after a few years of being
out of the loop! I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and meeting the various participants. The
material presented was excellent and the speakers did a good job. Last but not least your
organisation of the meeting was superb, as usual. This is the first time ever I attend a 2 day
meeting from A to Z without missing any session; perhaps I was thirsty to learn after being idle
from this academic atmosphere.
Thanks again, and all the best,
Bassam
8- Hello Alex,
I am back in Richmond... at least my body is. My brain is still scattered across the several time-zones
between here and Beirut. So forgive me if I'm a bit incoherent.
I just wanted to say thank you again. Thank you for being so determined to make that conference
happen, thanks for the invitation to attend, and especially thank you for the hospitality you and your
wife showed me. I'm very grateful.
I do think the conference was very successful. And for me, It was wonderful to explore Beirut. I think
from Casablanca to Kabul, Beirut is now my favorite city.
My best regards to you and yours. Hope to see you again soon,
Peter
9- Alex,
I’m so glad to hear the symposium went so well! We definitely look forward to seeing the report or
possibly having a phone call to hear about it all.
Best regards,
Karen
10- Dear Professor Abdelnoor
We would like to thank you for asking us to participate in the First scientific meeting of the Lebanese
Association for Biosafety Biosecurity and Bioethics.
It was a very stimulating meeting with high level interventions from local and international participants.
It is all thanks to your energizing presence. We would like to congratulate you personally and your
excellent wonderful team who really made it happen. In addition to the outstanding program and
presentations, the timing, the organization and hospitality were all taken care of to perfection.
We are proud to have been part of it.
Thank you again and we assure you that you can count on our enthusiastic participation in any future
activities of the association.
Best regards
Fayez Abillama MD
11- Jacques E. Mokhbat MD
Dear Dr. Abdelnoor,
I would like to thank you for organizing the 1st LAAAB symposium last week and for the invitation to give
a talk on the ethical considerations when using recombinant DNA molecules. It was really great to have
invitees from different universities in Lebanon exposing the bioethical challenges that researchers and
physicians are facing. In addition the presence of world-leaders in the field of Bioethics, Biosafety, and
Biosecurity from the United States was very instrumental in guiding the discussions and formulating the
recommendations. Finally I would like to applaud your continuous efforts to come up with national
regulations to cover all aspects of clinical and basic research pertaining to the mission of LAAAB.
Regards
Georges
Georges Nemer,PhD
Director of Basic Science Affairs
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
American University of Beirut
DTS4-23, Bliss Street, Beirut, Lebanon
P.O.Box: 11-0236
Phone: 9611350000 Ext 4876
Mobile: 9613820767
e-mail: gn08@aub.edu.lb
12- Dear Alex,
I would like to congratulate you on the success of the first symposium of the LBBBA. I also wanted to
thank you for inviting me to give a talk on biosafety as relates to livestock farms in Lebanon. I was
impressed with the quality of my fellow speakers, as well as with the wide range of topics covered in the
symposium.
Attendance was great, was maintained for the whole duration of the meeting, and there was a good
amount of discussion and feedback among attendees.
I believe that from this initial meeting, a complete picture of the future of biosafety, biosecurity and
bioethics in Lebanon has begun to emerge. Hopefully, this will lead to recommendations and guidelines
that will be adopted across the body of Lebanese institutions.
I thank you again for your efforts in making this happen.
Best regards,
Fawwak Sleiman, Ph.D.
American University of Beirut
13- Dear Dr. Abdelnoor
I would like to thank you for inviting me to the symposium for Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Bioethics.
I am glad that you are taking this initiative and will pass by as soon as the semester finishes (we are
currently in our last teaching week) to see if I can be part of this important work. Friday was very
interesting, I was hoping to attend on the other days but had two communions!
Thanks again and it is always good to see you.
Best regards
Roula