Novel Pesticides

Khalid Amari (PhD) is an esteemed expert in plant pathology with extensive experience in investigating the molecular interaction between plants and pathogens. He earned his Master and PhD degree in molecular plant pathology. Subsequently, he worked as a research associate at several prestigious European universities and research institutions renowned for their plant physiology and pathology expertise in Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany. Since 2020, Dr. Amari has been leading the \"Epigenetics and RNAi in plant biotechnology\" team at the Julius Kuehn Institute - Institute for Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology in Quedlinburg, Germany.

Marisé Borja is the Vice Chair of the Natural Substances Professional group at the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA) and Acting President of IBMA Spain. She is Director of Global Regulatory Affairs at SynTech Research Group and Head of Biopesticides at GAB Consulting. She has previously held a position as Advisor to Spain’s Ministry of Science and technology, while also being an Expert for the EU Commission, advising on Research Projects and Policy Development and Monitoring in Agriculture, Environment, and Life Science, Bioethics.

Domenico Deserio is a Policy Officer in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE). He is responsible for policies related to micro-organisms used as active substances in plant protection products. Within the EU Biopesticide Working Group which he co-chairs, he has produced four amending Regulations concerning placing on the market of microbiological active substances and plant protection products, and other related policies such as Commission Communications listing relevant test methods and guidance documents, and “Explanatory Notes” to the data requirements on micro-organisms. He holds a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Bari (Italy) and completed his thesis on food microbiology. Moreover, he achieved an advanced postgraduate Master by Research of Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide (Australia), carrying out his research on plant genomics and plant pathology.

Rüdiger Hauschild is Managing Director Biocontrol at APIS Applied Insect Science GmbH and working on active substance approval and product authorization of biocontrol agents. Since 2005, he was involved in more than 70 dossiers in the EU for microorganisms, natural substances and semiochemicals. He has been closely involved in the development of regulation of biocontrol and was involved in several EU research and policy initiatives, and is active in OECD, EU Commission, and IBMA working groups.

Marija Horvat has obtained her Master’s degree in Phytomedicine from the Agricultural Faculty in Zagreb, and a Master’s degree in Sanitation from the Veterinary Faculty in Zagreb. With more than twenty years of experience, she has demonstrated a broad understanding of plant protection through various positions in development, product stewardship, and regulatory affairs areas, within different multinational chemical and biotechnology companies. In her current role as a Regulatory Affairs Manager at Novonesis, she is responsible for the development and implementation of the regulatory strategy for biological solutions.

Patrick Kabouw is a Regulatory Manager at Novonesis, a world pioneer in BioSolutions. His mission is to foster innovation and collaboration within the biocontrol community. In agriculture, Patrick's career centers on biocontrol, specializing in crafting optimal registration strategies for biocontrol solutions such as beneficial microorganisms, naturally derived enzymes, seed treatments, and environmentally friendly proteins. He actively contributes to several industry associations such as CropLife Europe's Biopesticide group, Euroseeds, and the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association as a moderator for the natural substances group.

Dimitrios Karpouzas is a Professor of Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology and the Head of Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology University of Thessaly, Greece. His research focuses on Effects of pollutants on the ecology and function of soil microbial communities, microbial metabolism of pesticides in soil, isolation and characterization of pesticide-degrading microorganisms and study of their genetics and ecology.

Aude Kienzler is a Scientific Officer at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). She has over 10 years of experience within the Agricultural Sector, holding both a Masters and a Doctorate degree in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Toxicology.

Dominik Klinkenbuß is a Scientific Officer at the Germany Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) since 2020. After studying plant biotechnology at the Leibniz University Hannover he worked in the field of science communication on STEM subjects.

Anne Kortstee is an Efficacy Expert at the Dutch Board for the Authrorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb) and has broad experience for over 8 years with the evaluation of active substance and plant protection product dossiers involving micro-organisms, peptides and other novelties. The efficacy experts have an important role in the evaluation of the biological properties and the mode of action.

Peter Mc Cahon joined GreenLight Biosciences in 2022 and leads their Regulatory Affairs team. He has more than 25 years of experience in the agriculture sector and meeting regulatory challenges in different regions. He began his industry career as an environmental toxicologist and has held various positions in the Regulatory and Development departments of several multinational agrochemical companies in France, Germany and the USA.

Matthew Orr is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with Vestaron Corporation. He is responsible for leading domestic and international registration activities, providing oversight of Vestaron’s internal GLP laboratories, and representing Vestaron in industrial associations and task forces. Prior to this role he spent 10 years as a Global Registration Manager for insecticides at BASF. At the start of his carrer he worked as a research chemist and consultant in the pharmaceutical industry.

Nina Ortiz is responsible for product characterization and human health reviews at the Emerging Technologies Branch in the Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division of the US Environmental Protection Agency. A Biologist by training, Nina holds a PhD from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Tess Renahan advises PETA Consortium International e.V. on advancing robust non-animal testing methods that protect human health and the environment, with a focus on the assessment of plant protection products and biocides. She has a PhD in Developmental Biology from the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen in Germany.

Eva Van Hende joined Biotalys in March 2022. She has over 10 years of experience in the crop protection industry. Prior to joining Biotalys, she held a global managerial role in the Crop Protection division of Eastman BVBA. She was leading the global regulatory affairs team for crop protection during 5 years, and prior to that she was leading the innovation team and managing the marketing of a new crop protection technology. Eva Van Hende is a chemical bio-engineer and holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Ghent (UGent), Belgium. She is an MBA-candidate at Vlerick Business School.

Michael Werner brings together a diverse educational background in chemical and biological sciences, complemented by substantial expertise as a Regulatory Affairs Manager in the crop protection industry. Michael joined Syngenta's Regulatory Affairs department in 2014 and has since held various global and regional positions. For over seven years, Michael has been actively engaged in the registration of biocontrols and biostimulants and currently leads Syngenta’s Europe Regulatory Biologicals Team.

Jacobijn van Etten is project manager and coordinator of the GreenTEAM at Ctgb (the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides). She has extensive experience with biocontrol dossiers for both substances and products. Jacobijn likes the challenges of innovative dossiers and seeks to be supportive to the green ambitions of notifiers.