Vanessa Susevski

I coordinate the global alliance of high-containment laboratories to faclitate collaboration and knowledge exchange to protect human health, animal health and agriculture resources. This network is also known as the Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network (BSL4ZNet) and is composed of public health organizations from Canada, United States, Germany, United Kingdom and Australia. Some specific examples of my role and responsibilities include:

• Lead or attend internal and interdepartmental meetings as the BSL4ZNet Secretariat;
• Coordinate outreach engagements and prepare materials for events such as the International Face-to-Face meeting held in Winnipeg, Canada, hosting 10 institutions and over 30 experts;
• Attend and/or present at the BSL4ZNet Steering Committee to provide updates, seek recommendations or input, and support SME participants;
• Prepare briefing materials for CFIA senior management (financial option analysis, timelines, program overview, etc.);
• Provide advice, expertise or recommendations to CFIA senior management;
• Develop BSL4ZNet documents and standard operating procedures;
• Prepare communication materials to support ministerial announcements, Agency-wide Program promotion, or promote on social media platforms;
• Leverage Teams planning software to plan and track projects, and day-to-day operations;
• Respond to ad hoc requests and manage issues / opportunities.

The Laboratory Safety Technician (LST) is responsible for managing health and safety related matters of all employees at Ottawa Laboratory Fallowfield (OLF), the largest CFIA laboratory site in Canada. Working with the Biosafety Officer, the LST is responsible for:

• Inspecting and evaluating workplace environments, equipment or practices to verify compliance with safety standards and government regulations;
• Recommending measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes or materials;
• Maintaining positive relations with employees, students, supervisors and senior management;
• Recommending methods to reduce ongoing hazards with improved methods, processes and materials;
• Determining root causes of accidents via in-depth investigations and identified potential prevention strategies to mitigate future risk;
• Suspending dangerous activities posing active or potential threat to worker health and safety;
• Developing and maintaining health and safety programs, including medical monitoring, working alone and hazardous material management plans;
• Conducting Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) meetings to improve internal safety processes while respecting national protocol and regulations;
• Utilizing statistical analysis to improve awareness, change behavior and drive continuous program improvement.

I supported the delivery of CFIA's Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program which is designed to assist small Canadian business enterprises that want to start, grow and get to market. The ISC program supports eligible innovators with funding (up to $1M) in various stages of technological readiness levels (1 through 9) in exchange for innovative scientific solutions to a variety of complex real-world problems faced by the agency. As a science analyst, I collaborated with various departments within the agency, other government agencies, along with subject matter experts and industry leaders through all stages of the process– from the development of novel challenges to the selection of successful innovators. Some specific examples of my role and responsibilities as indicated on my PSPM include:

• Scan and identify testing innovations for CFIA business case use;
• Attend and/or present at the ISC Steering Committee to provide updates, seek recommendations or input, and support SME participants;
• Prepare briefing materials for CFIA senior management (financial option analysis, timelines, program overview, etc.);
• Provide advice, expertise or recommendations to CFIA senior management;
• Collaborate with ISC Secretariat to discuss CFIA’s ISC day-to-day operations, seek assistance with developing and releasing challenges, explore testing innovations, and discuss opportunities to strengthen the CFIA’s ISC Program;
• Develop ISC Program documents and standard operating procedures;
• Prepare communication materials to support ministerial announcements, Agency-wide Program promotion, or promote on social media platforms;