International Life Sciences Institute Biotechnology Forum

International Life Sciences Institute Biotechnology Forum NEWSLETTER ISSUE 04 | DECEMBER 2015

F E AT U R E D R E S O U R C E

BIOTRACK PRODUCT DATABASE Sharing information about genetically modified products approved for potential commercialization www2.oecd.org/biotech/ About the Database

Fostering Collaboration for the Public Good

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elcome to the December 2015 edition of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Biotechnology Forum Newsletter. Through the work of the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI), the ILSI Research Foundation (RF), and ILSI’s worldwide network of branch offices, ILSI is an international organization that builds global partnerships for a healthier world. The ILSI Biotechnology Forum Newsletter is an opportunity to showcase the collaborative and impactful work ILSI does related to biotechnology. In this issue of the newsletter, you will be introduced to editorials, activities and science that have been contributed by ILSI staff. • Learn about the Biotrack Product Database, the featured resource this quarter, which is a database that contains information about genetically modified products approved for potential commercialization • Find out about the latest publication on RNA interference and biosafety research, co-authored by the ILSI Research Foundation’s Dr. Andrew Roberts

ILSI Biotechnology Forum | Issue 04 | ember 2015

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Discover the approaches to the safety assessment of GM plants in Latin America organized by ILSI Argentina and ILSI Brazil • Provide feedback on the 2016 seminar series • See how ILSI India is addressing the challenge of a growing population with a scientific workshop on safety assessments • Hear about the collaboration between the ILSI Research Foundation and ICGEB during a workshop on food safety and environmental risk assessment • Take a look at how the ILSI Research Foundation used case studies and practical exercises to introduce concepts on environmental risk assessment in Uruguay • Read about ILSI Southeast Asia’s efforts on crop improvement for food and nutrition security • Mark your calendars for the upcoming Intra-ILSI Biotechnology Forum meeting on Sunday, January 24, 2016 during the ILSI Annual Meeting If you are interested in subscribing or contributing to this quarterly newsletter, please contact Libby Williams at [email protected].

The OECD Biotrack Product Database is a public database which allows regulatory officials and other interested stakeholders to easily share basic information on products derived from the use of modern biotechnology, as well as some products with novel traits acquired by the use of conventional breeding or mutagenesis, that have been approved for commercial application in at least one country, in terms of food, feed or environmental safety. Search Criteria This database accommodates unique identifiers, which are intended to be used as “keys” to access information of each transgenic product in this database. Source of Information This database is updated using information provided on a voluntary basis by authorities in OECD member/non-member countries and certain institutions that developed these products. To access the online database, visit:

WWW2.OECD.ORG/ BIOTECH/

H I G H L I G H T E D P U B L I C AT I O N

BIOSAFETY RESEARCH FOR NON-TARGET ORGANISM RISK ASSESSMENT OF RNAI-BASED GE PLANTS Abstract: RNA interference, or RNAi, refers to a set of biological processes that make use of conserved cellular machinery to silence genes. Although there are several variations in the source and mechanism, they are all triggered by double stranded RNA (dsRNA) which is processed by a protein complex into small, single stranded RNA, referred to as small interfering RNAs (siRNA) with complementarity to sequences in genes targeted for silencing. The use of the RNAi mechanism to develop new traits in plants has fueled a discussion about the environmental safety of the technology for these applications, and this was the subject of a symposium session at the 13th ISBGMO in Cape Town, South Africa. This paper continues that discussion by proposing research areas that may be beneficial for future environmental risk assessments of RNAi-based genetically modified plants, with a particular focus on non-target organism assessment. Access the Paper Here: www.ilsi.org/ ResearchFoundation/Documents/roberts_et_ al_2015_RNAi.pdf DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00958 Suggested Citation: Roberts, A., Devos, Y., Lemgo, G., Zhou, X. (2015) Biosafety research for non-target organism risk assessment of RNAibased GE plants. Frontiers Plant Science 6:958. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00958

ILSI Biotechnology Forum | Issue 04 | December 2015

Approaches to the Safety Assessment of GM Plants: Latin American Round DR. CLARA RUBENSTEIN, EXECUTIVE DIREC TOR, ILSI ARGENTINA AND DR. MARIELA WEINGARTEN BEREZOVSKY, EXECUTIVE DIREC TOR, ILSI BRAZIL

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he main objective of this workshop titled “Approaches to Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified (GM) Plants: Latin American Round”, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil September 16-17, 2015, was to build on the previous international workshop held in Buenos Aires in 2013. The focus of the discussion was on how the Codex Alimentarius “Principles for the Risk Analysis of Foods Derived from Modern Biotechnology and Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived From Recombinant-DNA Plants”, are being applied in Latin American countries where regulatory decisions on GM foods are being done. This meeting allowed regulators and risk assessors to (1) share how GM food safety assessments are currently being addressed in their countries and how the Codex Alimentarius guidance has been applied and (2) to discuss information and data requirements for GM food safety assessments in the context of harmonization. Participants were invited based on their professional expertise and experience, and participated as individuals with no intentions to represent their institutions during the meeting. In line with ILSI’s tripartite policy, industry and academic experts were also invited to participate. Five countries were represented in the meeting, specifically Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. The workshop resulted in a consensus report that summarized the general conclusions and recommendations, which will be used for the continuity of the work and follow up activities. The main points and recommendations on the four topics discussed during this workshop are

summarized below. Compositional Studies In line with the outcomes and recommendations issued in the Buenos Aires workshop held in 2013, the main recommendations included: • Reduce the list of components, focusing on those that are key for each crop, based on the source of the crop for key components/ antinutrients, and only requiring additional components based on risk hypotheses. • Revise the objectives of nutritional studies. • Generate reference documents or guidelines for harmonized field trial design, protocols, sampling, reporting and statistical treatment. • Re-visit Codex to clarify how to test multiple generations in vegetatively propagated crops. • Discuss with other agencies, to reinterpret the comparators issue, for example, looking at GM comparators and how to treat retransformations. • Provide training and capacity building on Codex and OECD documents. Develop good resources and online trainings for new regulators and periodically update the more experienced. • Consider data transportability for local data requirements. • Work on data integrity. Develop reasonable standards with affordable costs and implement. Continued on page 3

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Continued from page 2 Proteins : Toxicology /Allergenicity Evaluation criteria are well established, however, it is possible to improve harmonization and Codex interpretation as well as develop consensus about the best reference databases for allergens and toxic proteins. Recommendations included: • Strengthen Codex recommendations in this area. • Provide more clarity on the issue of conformational epitopes. • Looking beyond protein products, certain metabolites derived from their action might have to be assessed for safety. • Provide better guidelines for allergenicity evaluation. Animal Studies-Perception It was agreed that this is a complicated topic, due to its impact on public perception. It is necessary to revise the objectives and the weight of the information that these studies provide to safety assessments (“It is not clear what we are looking for, but we conclude it is absent”) and the requirements on plausible risk hypothesis. Recommendations included: • Toxicity studies are useful for novel proteins. Once these have been approved, it would

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not be necessary to require these studies again. Whole feed studies do not contribute a scientific value to the assessment, only nutritional studies can provide information in the case of nutritional modifications. It is necessary to improve risk communication. The role of scientists is key. Regulatory guidelines need to communicate better how the evaluation is performed. They also need to gain credibility. The development of professional regulatory bodies with stable regulators is critical. Local developments need support.

New Breeding Techniques (“NBTs”) There is no clarity about the need for regulatory oversight for these techniques. In Brazil, a working group was created within CTNBio to discuss and develop criteria. Some questions to address include: Should the Cartagena Protocol definition for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) be followed? Should authorization be case-by-case? Should we have a discussion to redefine what a GMO is? There are already some consultations in Brazil from developers about this. Recommendations included: • Study the Argentine guideline and the criteria proposed for the case of NBTs based

on pre-consultations. Define how to make the decisions available to the developers/public. • Revisit the definition of GMOs and modern biotechnology. • Work with other agencies, in particular from the Americas, to harmonize criteria. • Organize workshops with these countries to discuss NBTs. In summary, during this workshop concrete recommendations were made in order to advance the modernization and harmonization of the assessment criteria as well as the development of tools that can contribute to the continued improvement of GMO safety assessments. The organizers deeply appreciate the participation and involvement of all experts and the support of ILSI and ILSI Research Foundation. Also, we want to acknowledge the effort and efficiency of ILSI Brazil and ILSI Argentina´s staffs. Collaborative and tripartite work will be promoted going forward, to work on concrete actions to help address these recommendations. •

To learn more about the recommendations from the initial workshop in 2013, view this publication: http://bit.ly/1iyvSsB

We want to hear from you! The Intra-ILSI Biotechnology Forum serves as a platform for ILSI staff to share updates and collaborate on work related to biosafety and biotechnology. For 2016, we would like to plan a seminar series on topics of interest to forum members. The format of the seminars would be hour-long presentations that are web-broadcasted with a question and answer section at the end. As we prepare this seminar series, we are looking for your input on topics of interest and speakers. Please complete this short survey by January 15, 2016. The survey can be found at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/biotechforum2016


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Addressing the Challenge of a Growing Population: The Future is in Food

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DR. REKHA SINHA, EXECUTIVE DIREC TOR, ILSI-INDIA

n October 14-15, 2015, ILSI-India organized another successful scientific workshop on the safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) foods, along with the Department of Biotechnology, the Government of India and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in New Delhi, India. It will be challenging to feed the growing population due to the limitations in availability of land and other agricultural inputs including water as well as the impact of climate change on the yield and nutrient contents of the crops. Against this background, it is very important to introduce high yielding, drought resistant, insecticide resistant, biofortified crops in Indian agriculture. This can be achieved only through genetic engineering. A beginning has been made with Bt cotton in India. The future is in food. Biotechnology safety assessments are a crucial area which require keen attention. It is important that scientists working with regulatory authorities understand the various aspects, get equipped to


undertake safety assessments and instill greater confidence in the general public about the country’s capabilities in handling biotechnology. This workshop was attended by representatives from the Biosafety Unit of DBT, RCGM, NIN, FSSAI, EIC, IVRI, CFTRI, NDRI, ICAR, IARI in addition to other government, industry, academic and international organizations. Three technical sessions were held during the workshop, with topics that included: • The Safety of GM Foods / Crops • Regulatory Framework of GM Crops: National and International Frameworks • The Introduction to Safety Evaluation of GM Crops These sessions were addressed by national and international speakers including Mr. D.H. Pai Panandiker, Chairman, ILSI-India; Mr. Jonn P. Slette, Senior Attaché for Agricultural Affairs, USDA; Dr. S. R. Rao, Advisor, DBT; Mr. David Green, President, Greenhouse Communications; Mr. Dean Rugnetta, Deputy Country Director, US FDA; Dr. Frank A.

Shotkoski, Director of the Agriculture Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII), Cornell University; Dr. B. Sesikeran, Chairman, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM); Dr. Carrie McMahon, Consumer Safety Officer, US FDA; Dr. Narendra S. Deshmukh, Director, Intox Pvt. Ltd.; Dr. Vibha Gupta, Principal Scientist, Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), University of Delhi South Campus; Dr. B. Dinesh Kumar, Scientist, National Institute of Nutrition; Dr. B. Mohana Subramanian, Scientist, Translational Research Platform for Veterinary Biologicals; Dr. Vasanthi Siruguri, Scientist E, Food and Drug Toxicology Research Centre, NIN; and Professor Kulbhushan Tikoo, Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali. The participants worked on two case studies related to GM cotton and GM maize. The workshop helped with capacity building and opened windows to the latest developments in science and its applications.

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Science-Based Approaches to Food Safety and Environmental Risk Assessments Workshop DR. MICHAEL WACH, SENIOR SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM MANAGER, CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT, ILSI RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), headquartered in Trieste, Italy, has several ongoing programs to build biosafety capacity. The ILSI Research Foundation’s Center for Environmental Risk Assessment (CERA) has collaborated with ICGEB several times to leverage our expertise and reach new audiences. Recently, Dr. Michael Wach, CERA, participated as a faculty and resource person at an ICGEB workshop, entitled “Scientific and Technical Approaches in GMO Decision-Making”, held in Trieste, October 19-23, 2015. Participants from sixteen countries attended. Dr. Boet Glandorf and Dr. Mark Tepfer also served as faculty. The workshop covered science-based approaches to both food safety assessment and environmental risk assessment. Dr. Wach gave presentations on internet resources for food safety and environmental risk assessment and led two exercises on risk communication, which included two writing exercises: a data deficiency letter and a risk assessment report.

Introducing Environmental Risk Assessment through Case Studies and Practical Exercises DR. ANDREW ROBERTS, DIREC TOR, CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND CENTER FOR SAFET Y ASSESSMENT OF FOOD AND FEED, ILSI RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The ILSI Research Foundation’s Center for Environmental Risk Assessment (CERA) was approached by officials from the Uruguay Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) and asked to prepare a three day program introducing concepts for environmental risk assessment of genetically engineered (GE) plants. The workshop was part of a series of 9 activities related to GE plants sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and took place in Montevideo from November 3-5, 2015. Dr. Carmen Vicien, a consultant and long-time CERA collaborator, served as the lead organizer for the workshop. In addition to the MGAP, participants were invited from other government agencies including the Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Vivienda, Ordenamiento territorial y Medio ambiente), Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Industry (Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Minería), as well as the Government of Montevideo. Academic participants from universities and research institutes, including the National Agricultural Research Institution (INIA) also participated. In consultation with the Director of CERA and other faculty, the workshop was designed to


focus on introducing concepts for environmental risk assessment through a problem formulation approach, using practical exercises and case studies to illustrate concepts. In order to make sure that the discussion was solidly grounded in relevant environmental protection goals for Uruguay, the Ministry of Environment was invited to provide an overview of activities in the country. Case studies for use in practical exercises were developed to illustrate important concepts and considered both existing GE crops, such as Bt maize, as well as new crops under development for use in Uruguay, including white clover for use in forage pasture. By considering these cases in the context of practical exercises on problem formulation, weed risk assessment and non-target organism assessment, participants were able to see the utility of a flexible risk assessment framework in order to allow risk assessors the ability to focus on investigating relevant information for case specific risk assessments. As part of the FAO program, surveys were collected from workshop participants. The speakers and presentations selected by CERA were given high marks, and participants offered consistent praise for the highly interactive sessions and

value of the practical exercises. As a follow up to the workshop, participants as well as additional stakeholders in Uruguay have been provided access to CERA’s e-learning platform and asked to complete the training course on “Problem Formulation for Environmental Risk Assessment of GE Plants.” This should extend the life of the training significantly.

To access the e-Learning course on Problem Formulation, please contact Libby Williams ([email protected])

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Crop Improvement for Food and Nutrition Security in Southeast Asia: Opportunities and Challenges for Gene Stacking and Other Plant Breeding Techniques MR. KENG NGEE, SENIOR MANAGER, SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS, ILSI SOUTHEAST ASIA REGION

With increasing urbanization and the impact of global climate change, Southeast Asia faces increasing challenges to provide sufficient, safe and nutritious food to its people in the coming decades. Conscious of these emerging challenges, leaders of Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently laid out their ASEAN Community Vision 2025, which emphasizes the need to develop a food and agriculture sector within ASEAN that is competitive, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, and which ultimately contributes to food and nutrition security for the region. Recognizing some of these challenges for the region, ILSI Southeast Asia Region organized a series of seminars to discuss the Challenges for Food and Nutrition Security in Southeast Asia: Opportunities and Challenges for Gene Stacking and Other Plant Breeding Techniques, which were held in Singapore and Thailand, on November 20 and November 23, 2015 respectively. In Singapore, the meeting was organized together with the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) of Singapore. In Thailand, the National Agency for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) of the National Science and Technology Agency in Thailand (NSTDA) co-organized. Support for both


meetings was also provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“Southeast Asian countries are generally regarded as being low in food security, despite them also being major producers of agri-food products” To provide an understanding of the overall context underlying the topic of the seminar, the opening presentations on the challenges for food and nutrition security and the role to be played by crop improvement were shared by Professor Paul Teng, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Professor Songsak Srianujata, Mahidol University, Thailand, and Professor Prasartporn Smitamana, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. It was noted that with the exception of Brunei and Singapore, Southeast Asian countries are generally regarded as being low in food security, despite them also being major producers of agri-food products such as rice, fruits, vegetables and seafood.

Many Southeast Asian countries also face problems of malnutrition, which include both under-nutrition and over-nutrition. This situation is caused by a number of supply and demand factors. On the supply side, these include a declining and aging farmer population, deteriorating agricultural performance and unstable crop yields, environmental degradation, as well as climate change. While on the demand side, there is an increasing demand for food due to urbanization and increasing incomes, which has also led to dietary changes that increase the demand for more diverse and high protein foods. One solution that has been put forward to address some of these challenges is through the genetic improvement of food crops, so that they can provide better yields and improved nutrition. Through such genetic improvements, food crops are able to gain resistance to biotic stressors (weeds, insect pests, diseases) and abiotic stressors (drought, flooding and salinity), which would help to increase crop yields. On the other hand, genetic improvements that raise the nutritional quality of food crops can also help to address ongoing nutrition issues, in particular for micronutrient deficiencies. Continued on Page 7

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Continued from Page 6

SUPPLY

DEMAND

CHALLENGES

CHALLENGES

• Declining and aging

• Increasing demand

farmer population • Deteriorating

for food due to urbanization and

agricultural

increasing incomes

performance

• Dietary changes that

• Unstable crop yields

demand for more

• Environmental

diverse and high

degradation

protein foods

• Climate change

“One solution that has been put forward to address some of these challenges is through the genetic improvement of food crops, so that they can provide better yields and improved nutrition.” Following the opening papers in both Singapore and Thailand, Mr. Ashish Wele, HarvestPlus, which is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), shared the ongoing efforts by HarvestPlus in developing more nutritious food crops, through his paper on “Improving Nutrition Quality of Food Crops using Conventional Plant Breeding Techniques – Opportunities and Challenges”. Mr. Wele explained that micronutrient deficiencies, such as for Vitamin A, iron and zinc, afflict many countries particularly in the developing world. The strategies and means available to address this type of ‘hidden hunger’ include direct micronutrient supplementation, commercial fortification of foods, increasing dietary diversity, as well as through agricultural intervention via biofortification of food crops. In this regard, HarvestPlus is working on the agricultural intervention strategy by developing biofortified staple crops through conventional breeding methods that can provide sources of micronutrients in the diet. The type of biofortified crops released by HarvestPlus in different countries are specifically targeted towards the needs for each country and also take into account the costeffectiveness of such an intervention. The Vitamin A enriched sweet potato in Mozambique and Uganda and the iron-fortified pearl millet and wheat in Rajasthan province in India


are among the crops that have already been rolled out by HarvestPlus. The biofortification programs implemented by HarvestPlus have so far been very successful, largely because of a holistic strategy that includes the development of the crop, raising awareness and encouraging adoption of the crop by farmers, and finally scaling up and mainstreaming the product through multiple local and international partnerships. While HarvestPlus primarily uses conventional breeding techniques for biofortification, other organizations such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have also adopted genetic engineering techniques to do so, such as for the Golden Rice project. Dr. Donald MacKenzie, IRRI, explained some of the reasons for applying genetic engineering for biofortification. Dr. MacKenzie shared that genetic engineering techniques can be useful in specific circumstances, such as when the targeted level for a particular nutrient is above the range of natural variation of the nutrient present naturally in the crop species (for example, with pro-vitamin A, folate and iron in rice). These techniques can also be used when a particular crop species is difficult to breed through conventional means (for example, banana, cassava and potato that are vegetatively propagated). However, in contrast to using conventional breeding methods, the usage of genetic engineering techniques for biofortification comes with additional challenges such as certain unique product development considerations; the need to consider regulatory implications and safety assessment requirements; and the need for public acceptance of foods that have been produced through genetic engineering. In the case of Golden Rice, IRRI has developed a specific regulatory strategy to address these considerations, which includes targeting specific countries for cultivation, specifically Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines; submitting separate applications for food/feed approvals versus cultivation approvals; and implementing efficacy studies only after receiving food/feed approvals. In anticipation of the submission for regulatory approvals, the transgenic events contained in Golden Rice have also been thoroughly characterized to facilitate requirements for the safety assessment. Following the two presentations comparing biofortification using conventional breeding and genetic engineering approaches, Professor Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia, USA, shared his views on the overall evolution and development of plant breeding to improve food crops through his presentation on “Plant Improvement – Perspectives on Conventional and Genetic Engineering Techniques”. Professor Parrott explained that throughout history, plant breeders have continuously

sought to improve plants used for food in order to obtain higher crops yields and to confer resistance against adverse growing conditions. The earliest efforts in plant breeding include the domestication of wild food plants, which have been achieved through the process of selection for desired traits over time. In modern times, plant breeders continue to use this conventional breeding approach of selection to develop modern cultivars that contain desirable traits and often stack or combine these genetic traits to obtain the desired properties. The source of genes that are used for selection often come from wild relatives of domesticated species. During conventional breeding, undesirable traits are often also incorporated into the resulting plant and need to be eliminated through several cycles of breeding to obtain the final desired product. More recently, it has also been discovered that the conventional breeding process also results in the accumulation of new genes in plants, rather than just the replacement of one form of a gene (allele) with another as previously thought. Apart from using genes found in wild relatives, plant breeders have also adopted the use of radiation to obtain new gene mutations in plants that could provide useful traits that could be selected. However, the final product of such plants obtained through mutational breeding often also incorporates gene mutations caused by exposure to radiation that are not always well characterized. Additionally, plant breeders have also been successful in transferring genes from non-sexually compatible species through the crossing with an intermediate species. This process does, however, result in the unintended transfer of large segments of DNA apart from the desired gene into the final product, which is a phenomenon known as ‘linkage drag’. Finally, the development of genetic engineering techniques using transgenic technology has provided plant breeders with a more accurate means to transfer desired genes into the final product and it also provides the possibility to transfer genes from any source. When compared with plants bred using conventional breeding and mutation breeding, it has been shown that genetically engineered plants have far less genetic variability, which would mean that they would also have a lower likelihood to produce unintended effects. Hence, the likelihood of unintended effects from stacking traits of genetically engineered plants would not be greater than the likelihood of unintended effects from stacked traits of conventionally bred plants.

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SAVE THE DATE

Sponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), ILSI North America, ILSI HESI and the ILSI Research Foundation, the 2016 ILSI Annual Meeting will provide the latest science on a host of issues, with ample discussion and networking opportunities.

January 24, 2016 Intra-ILSI Biotechnology Forum Meeting ILSI Annual Meeting St. Petersburg, Florida, USA www.ilsi.org/Pages/2016-Annual-Meeting.aspx Be sure to use #ILSI_AM2016 on Twitter to join the conversation during the Annual Meeting!

The Intra-ILSI Biotechnology Forum Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 24, 2015 from 5:006:00pm at the Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida during the ILSI Annual Meeting.

Additional scientific sessions during the Annual Meeting will explore the following hot topics: • Beyond Appetite: New Perspectives on Eating Behavior • What Gets Measured, Gets Changed: How to Best Assess Dietary Intakes & Exposures • Dietary Adverse Effects: Assessing Determinants and Risk • One ILSI: Regional Differences in Food Patterns & Health Implications • Harvesting Open Data for Nutrition Security • Human Microbiome and Health

Connect with Us Interested in working with ILSI on biotechnology and biosafety? Curious about how to get involved with ILSI in your region? ILSI is a nonprofit, worldwide organization that builds global partnerships for a healthier world. Contact ILSI staff today!

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The Intra ILSI Biotech Forum Newsletter is published quarterly and distributed to staff and stakeholders interested in biotechnology initiatives at the International Life Sciences Institute. Each edition includes editorials, activities and related science contributed by ILSI staff. To receive an electronic copy of this newsletter, please send your name, institution and email address to Libby Williams at [email protected]


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