External experts

The Council is currently looking for more external experts. To apply, please find all the information at the bottom of this page.

In the frame of the scientific evaluation of regulatory dossiers and other biosafety-related matters, the Biosafety Advisory Council and the Biosafety and Biotechnology Unit (SBB) can call for the scientific support of external experts. This cooperation with scientists is very important to deliver scientifically sound advices to the competent authorities. The Biosafety Council and the SBB are indeed unique interfaces between the academic and the regulatory areas in the field of biotechnology.

For this purpose, the Biosafety Council and the SBB have drawn up a common list of experts, subdivided into 5 groups:

GM plants

Includes scientists having expertise in (genetically modified) plants

GM animals

Includes scientists having expertise in (genetically modified) animals

GM food/feed

Includes scientists having expertise in food and feed aspects (e.g. nutrition, allergenicity, toxicology)

Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy

Includes scientists having expertise in gene therapy and/or (recombinant) viruses

Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi

Includes scientists having expertise in micro-organisms other than viruses

Current list of scientific experts assisting the Biosafety Council and the SBB in their work

Name	Institution	Field(s) of expertise
ANNÉ Jozef (Prof. Dr. ir.)	KULeuven Microbiology and Immunology	Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi
ASSELMAN Jana (Prof.)	UGent Animal Biology & Applied Aquatic Ecology	GM animals
BATOKO Henri (Prof.)	UCL Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology	GM plants GM food/feed
CASSART Dominique (Dr.)	Uliège Faculty of Veterinary Medicine	GM animals
DE CLERCQ Patrick (Prof. Dr. Ir.)	Ugent Department of Crop Protection	GM plants
DE LOOSE Marc (Prof.)	ILVO Technology and FOOD	GM plants
DE MEY Marjan (Prof. Dr. ir.)	UGent - Centre for Synthetic Biology	Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi
DEPICKER Ann (Prof. Dr.)	UGent - VIB- VIB Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics - Plant systems Biology	GM plants
DEWALS Benjamin (Prof.)	ULiège Infectious and parasitic diseases	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
DOMMES Jacques (Prof. Dr.)	Uliège Department of Life Sciences	GM plants
du JARDIN Patrick (Prof. Dr. Ir)	ULiège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech Unité de Biologie Végétale	GM plants
FIEMS Leo (Dr. ir.)	ILVO - Instituut voor Landbouw en Visserijonderzoek Animal Sciences	GM food/feed
FONTAINE Véronique (Prof. Dr.)	ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles Faculté de Pharmacie	Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi
GHANEM Michel (Dr. Ir.)	Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD)	GM plants
GHEYSEN Godelieve (Prof. Dr.)	Ugent Molecular Biotechnology	GM plants
GIJSBERS Rik (Ass. Prof. Dr.)	KULeuven Viral Vector Technology & Gene Therapy	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
GILIS Dimitri (Prof. Dr.)	Université Libre de Bruxelles - Computational biology & bioinformatics	GM food/feed
HAEGEMAN Andy (Dr.)	CODA-CERVA Virologie	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
HUYGHEBAERT André (Prof. Dr. Ir - emeritus)	Ugent Food Safety and quality	GM food/feed
MÜLLER Ruth (Prof. Dr.)	Institute of Tropical Medicine	GM animals
REHEUL Dirk (Prof. Dr. ir.)	UGent - Dept. Plants and Crops	GM plants
ROEBROEK Anton (Prof. Dr.)	KULeuven Human Genetics	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
TENENBAUM Liliane (Dr.)	Lausanne University Hospital Clinical Neurosciences	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
TWIZERE Jean-Claude (Dr.)	ULiège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
VAN BREUSEGEM Frank (Prof. Dr.)	VIB - Ugent Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics	GM plants
VAN DEN BROEKE Anne (D.D.G.)	Institut J. Bordet Hematologie en Oncohematologie	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
VAN DIJCK Patrick (Prof.)	VIB - KULeuven Biology and Molecular Microbiology Laboratory Molecular Cell Biology	Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi
VAN DOORSSELAERE Jan (Dr.)	VIVES campus Roeselaere	GM plants
VAN LAREBEKE Nicolas (MD, Dr., emeritus)	VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel Analytical and Environmental Chemistry	GM food/feed
VAN MIERT Erik (Dr.)	Firmenich BELGIUM S.A. N.V.	GM food/feed
VANDEN BROECK An (Dr. ir.)	Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) Biodiversity and natural environment	GM plants
VANDER WAUVEN Corinne (Dr.)	Institut de Recherches Microbiologiques J-M Wiame	Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi
WILLARD-GALLO Karen (Dr.)	ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles Institut J. Bordet - Immunologie Moléculaire	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy
ZORZI Willy (Dr.)	ULiège Service d'Histologie Humaine, Faculté de Médecine	Recombinant viral vectors, virosomes, vaccines, gene therapy Genetically modified micro-organisms - Bacteria and Fungi

Experts are consulted on a case-by-case basis, depending on the specific expertise needed to assess a dossier. The expertise is done in most of the cases according to a written procedure. The experts are entitled to receive a financial allowance for their scientific work.

The common list of experts is regularly updated and continuously open for new candidates. This is an opportunity to include scientists who are interested in providing their support to the work of the Biosafety Council and the SBB.

Interested individuals are required to submit to the attention of the SBB a motivation letter and a nomination form corresponding to the expert group in which they would like to be included (see relevant documents below) together with a copy of their CV.

Downloadable documents (Word files)

For your information please have also a look at the code of conduct for experts, a document that each expert must sign each time he/she participates in the expertise of a dossier.