Description:
Serological testing plays a critical role in public health, supporting seroprevalence studies, vaccine response evaluation, and infectious disease diagnostics. However, achieving reliable and actionable results can be challenging due to issues such as cross-reactivity and assay design.
In this webinar, under DCVMN´s Healthy Industry Framework, Panadea will discuss common challenges in serological testing and present innovative solutions developed to address them. Through real-world examples, including highly specific flavivirus and filovirus serology, participants will gain insight into the public health importance of robust serological assays. Attendees will learn about common pitfalls in serological testing and gain practical guidance on selecting the most appropriate assay for different intended uses.
Advancing serological testing for tropical and emerging infectious diseases
Organisation:
Fernando Lobos
Engineer with an MBA and an International Affairs certificate, boasting 25+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in business development, strategic planning, international business, and public relations within the pharmaceutical industry. Proven track record of leadership in business operations, regional supply chain, engineering and local production setting, has dedicated the last 20 years to driving the development and supply of vaccines with focus on public markets in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Serving as Business Development and Innovation Director of Sinergium Biotech in Argentina, is leading the process to host the mRNA Tech Transfer Programme set by MPP and WHO.
Dr. Yang Liu
Dr. Yang Liu holds a doctorate in Biochemistry (Ph.D.), and a master’s degree of Business Administration (MBA). He is a former Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) employee, who has worked as the head of operations for BNITM Diagnostics Development Laboratory (DDL) from 2013-2018.
Dr. Yang Liu has over 15 years of international work experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries including Sweden, Singapore and Germany. He has worked at Quintiles East Asia (IQVIA) in Singapore from 2009 to 2013, and later in senior leadership roles in bioanalytical operations in pharmaceutical companies such as BioAgilytix and Novartis in Germany. In 2021, Dr. Liu and other two co-founders founded Panadea Diagnostics GmbH, taken over the role of CEO.
Dr. Christina Deschermeier
She holds a diploma in Physics (Dipl. Phys.) and a doctorate in Chemistry (Ph.D.). In 2012, she joined the newly established BNITM DDL as a research scientist and has led the DDL R&D team since 2015. Dr. Deschermeier has over ten years of experience developing and validating serological assays and is the corresponding author of several peer-reviewed publications featuring the DDL ELISA tests in international journals. She is a co-inventor of patent EP3207345. In 2021, Dr. Deschermeier and two other co-founders founded Panadea Diagnostics GmbH and has taken over the role of CSO.
Mr. Ben Rushton
Mr. Ben Rushton has 10 years of biotech industry experience across different fields, including operations and production management, as well as scientist and protein biochemist roles at small, medium, and established companies (Pictor Ltd, Arotec Diagnostics Ltd, and Thermo Fisher Scientific) in New Zealand. Since 2018, Mr. Rushton has worked at BNITM, overseeing regulatory requirements, process optimization, protein production processes, assay dynamics, and diagnostic kit quality control. In 2021, Mr. Rushton and two other co-founders founded Panadea Diagnostics GmbH and assumed the role of COO.
