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Workshop Overview
The NIST-led Rapid Microbial Testing Methods (RMTM) Consortium launched in 2020 to develop standards and measurement-based solutions to advance the use of RMTMs in advanced therapy products. NIST is hosting its 5th annual workshop on RMTMs on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. The goal of this half-day virtual event is to discuss recent technological advances in the field of rapid sterility testing for advanced therapy products and to provide an update on the NIST RMTM Consortium activities. Consortium updates will include overviews of current and planned interlaboratory studies. This workshop is free and open to all interested parties. New members are still being accepted into the NIST RMTM Consortium.
Questions? Email rmtm [at] nist.gov (rmtm[at]nist[dot]gov)
Workshop Agenda
Time (ET) | Presentation/Topic | Speaker(s) |
| 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM | Welcome, Consortium Overview, and Workshop Introduction | Nancy Lin (NIST) |
| 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM | Technical Advances in Rapid Sterility Testing | |
| 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM | Application of nanopore long-read sequencing to sterility testing for cell therapy products | James Strutt (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research & Technology) |
| 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM | Detection of Pathogens in Complex Matrices via NomadX Platforms | Heidi Leonard (NomadX) |
LUNCH (on your own) | ||
| 1:15 PM – 1:45 PM | NIST RMTM Consortium Working Group 1 - Reference Materials: Toward Microbial Cell Reference Materials Characterized beyond CFU | Nancy Lin (NIST)/ Kirsten Parratt (NIST) |
| 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM | NIST RMTM Consortium Working Group 3 - Interlaboratory Studies: Microbial Contaminant Detection Across Rapid Sterility Testing Methods - Preliminary Interlaboratory Study Findings | Jason Kralj (NIST)/ Stephanie Servetas (NIST) |
Break | ||
| 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | NIST RMTM Consortium Working Group 2 - Methods: Tools to Support Next Generation Sequencing as a Rapid Sterility Method | Scott Jackson (NIST) /Tyler Laird (NIST) |
| 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Closing Discussion | Scott Jackson (NIST) |