Valitest - Training

VALITEST webinar series and training activities

The concept of test validation in Plant Health

Objective of the series and activities

The objectives of this webinar series and activities are:

To introduce the concept of validation and present the state of the art in terms of choice of a test and analysis of the results of performance evaluation
To train experts on the use of kits (including on-site and field tests)

Format

The activities will consist of 5 webinars (1h) and 2 practical training sessions (see below the duration of each session).

Participants

The VALITEST training activities are targeting stakeholders working in Plant Health and interested in the concept of test validation (e.g. technical staff of public and private diagnostic laboratories and of companies producing diagnostic kits, scientific community, policy makers, end-users of kits and on-site tests).

Registrations

Webinars are limited to 500 participants. Places will be filled on a first come first serve basis. Please use the links provided below to register.
The number of participants for practical training sessions is limited and depends on the training activities. Places will be filled on a first come first served basis, but if the number of applicants exceed the limit, priority will be given to participants from EPPO countries and participation may be limited to a given number of applicants per organisation. Other applicants will be added to a waiting list.

Agenda (Timings are CET time zone)

Webinar	What is test validation and why it matters for reliable diagnostics?	Monday 11^th January, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: The objective of this webinar is to present what is meant by validation of a test in Plant Health and why it is important to have reliable diagnostics. Presenters: René van der Vlugt (WUR), Françoise Petter (EPPO)
Webinar	How to adopt a new test in your laboratory?	Friday 15^th January, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: During this webinar, the general steps that should be considered when adopting a new test in the laboratory will be presented. Then examples of the main challenges experienced by the VALITEST partners when adopting a new test will be presented. Presenters: Tanja Dreo (NIB) and other VALITEST partners (to be announced)
Webinar	The use and validation of on-site tests	Wednesday 20^th January, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: This webinar will present the specificities of using and validating on-site tests compare to standard laboratory tests. The experience from a kit producing company and from a diagnostic laboratory will be shared. Presenters: Denise Altenbach (BIOREBA) and Jean-Philippe Renvoisé (ANSES)
Practical training session	Analysis of performance characteristics	Tuesday 26^th of January, 2 pm to 4:30 pm	Objective of the activities: Every diagnostic test has its performance characteristics. The choice to use a certain test for a certain intended use is largely made on basis of these characteristics. This implies that the importance of different performance criteria is dependent on the scope of a diagnostic test. In this interactive meeting we will explore the importance of the scope of a diagnostic test, to find out which performance criteria are important in different testing situations and why. Facilitators: Jose van Beckhoven (Prime Diagnostics) and other partners from the project	Register (limited to 40 participants)
Webinar	How do companies handle quality control and validation of products and how will the EPDIA charter help in improving this task?	Monday 1^st of February, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: This webinar will present how companies handle product development, validation and production quality control and how the European Plant Diagnostics Industry Association (EPDIA) quality charter respond to the need of having a harmonized approach for quality. Presenters: Caroline Freye (LOEWE), Marieke Beltman (ClearDetections), Camilo Gianinazzi (IpadLab) Facilitator: Marco Kaiser (BIOREBA)	Register
Webinar	Why is communication on test selection between risk managers and diagnostic laboratories important ?	Monday 15^th of February, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: The choice of diagnostic tests is usually made by national reference laboratories based on the performance characteristics of the tests. In this webinar the presenters will discuss why in some circumstances, the risk managers should also be involved in the final decision. Presenters: Barbara Agstner and Femke van den Berg (FERA Science Ltd.) and Françoise Petter (EPPO)	Register
Practical training session	The use of kits: training and demonstration	Thursday 22^nd of April, 2 pm to 3:30 pm	Objective of the activities: The objectives of this activity is to discuss the use of kits based on ELISA or molecular technologies. For this training activity, participants will have the opportunity to test in advance one kit produced by one of the companies that are VALITEST partners and to provide feedback on the use of this kit. If possible, feedback should be sent in advance. During the training session, companies will present the advantages and limitations of the two different technologies. Practical sessions will be organised to discuss the use of the kits and the feedbacks sent by the participants Organization: The participants registering to this activity have the possibility to test one kit from one of the companies and to provide feedback to the company. The kit will be sent mid-February. The all-inclusive kits will be supplied for free by the companies, but the shipment costs will be billed to the participants. Participants must use the kit only for the purpose of the VALITEST practical training session and must test it before the practical training session. Presenters/facilitators: Theoretical session: Caroline Freye (LOEWE), Marieke Beltman (ClearDetections), Camilo Gianinazzi (IpadLab), Denise Altenbach (BIOREBA), Marco Kaiser (BIOREBA) Practical session: all companies of WP7.	Register (limited to 150 participants)

Test Performance Studies organisation

Objective of the series and activities

The objectives of this webinar series and activities are:

To present the state of the art in term of organization and analysis of Test Performance Studies (TPS)
To present results and experience gained during the VALITEST project (12 TPS were organised in the framework of the project).

Format

The activities will consist of educational videos, 8 webinars (1h) and 2 practical training sessions (see below the duration of each session).

Participants

The VALITEST training activities are targeting staff of public and private (diagnostic) laboratories that are organising test performance studies.

Registrations

Agenda (Timings are CET Time zone)

Videos	What is a TPS?	Week of the 15^th of February
Videos	VALITEST TPS: selection of the pests and of the TPS organizers	Week of the 15^th of February
Webinar 1	Preparing the TPS plan	Friday 19^th February, 11 am	Content of the webinar: During this webinar, the objectives and the content of the TPS plan will be presented. Experience from VALITEST TPS organisers will be shared. Presenters: Géraldine Anthoine (ANSES), Françoise Petter (EPPO)	Register
Webinar 2	Selection of the tests and associated documents	Wednesday 24^th February, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: During this webinar, the workflow for test selection (including definition of the TPS scope, the inventory of tests available, the selection of criteria and the preliminary studies) will be presented. Experience from VALITEST TPS organisers will be shared. Presenter: Géraldine Anthoine (ANSES)	Register
Webinar 3	Selection of participants and contract	Monday 1^st March, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: This webinar will present the workflow used in the framework of VALITEST to select the participants of the TPS. Experience from VALITEST TPS organisers will be shared. Presenter: Hanna Mouaziz (ANSES)	Register
Webinar 4	Preparation and dispatch of samples	Friday 5^th of March, 11 am	Content of the webinar: This webinar will describe how to prepare the panel of samples based on the scope of the validation, the access to biological material, the performance criteria of interest etc. Recommendations from work package 2 on an optimal theoretical panel for statistical analysis of the results will also be presented. Experience from VALITEST TPS organisers will be shared. Presenter: Géraldine Anthoine (ANSES)	Register
Webinar 5	Production of reference material for TPS	Wednesday 10^th of March, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: This webinar will present a list of descriptors for reference materials that was established in the framework of VALITEST work package 3 and the minimum requirement for each of these descriptors. Then a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the production of reference material will be presented. Presenter: René van der Vlugt (WUR)	Register
Practical training sessions	How to organise Test Performance Studies?	Monday 15^th - Thursday 18^th of March - 9 am to 3 pm (one one-day session to be chosen among the 4 proposed)	Content of the activity: Participants will go in detail through the different steps of the organisation of a TPS. The TPSs on ToBRFV or TSWV will be used as examples to illustrate the activities. Prerequisite: Participants should attend the webinars 1 to 5 (or watch the recordings once released) to participate in this practical training session. Facilitators: Nataša Mehle (NIB) and Sabrina Bertin, Anna Taglienti (CREA)	Register (limited to 50 participants)
Webinar 6	How to tackle the analysis of TPS results?	Monday 22^nd of March, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: This webinar will present how to define whether the results from a laboratory are acceptable or not and how to define outliers. It will quickly show how to present and interpret the obtained results. Experience from VALITEST TPS organisers will be shared. Presenter: Catherine Harrison (FERA)	Register
Videos	Calculate performance characteristics of a test and get useful information from your validation data by statistical analysis.	To be released on the week of the 22^nd of March.
Webinar 7	Q&A session: the statistical analysis of TPS results	Monday 29^th of March, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: Based on the videos to be released on the website on how to calculate different performance characteristics, this webinar will be a Q&A session on how to perform the statistical analysis of the TPS results. Wherever possible, questions should be sent in advance. It may not be possible to deal with last minute questions during the webinar. Presenter: Sébastien Massart (U. Liege)	Register
Practical training sessions	How to analyse the results of Test Performance Studies?	30^th of March to 1^st of April - 9 am to 4:15 pm (one one-day session to be chosen among the 3 proposed)	Content of the activity: Participants will have to analyse the results of a TPS and calculate the performance characteristics of different tests. Prerequisite: Participants should attend the webinars 6 and 7 (or watch the recordings once released) and watch the videos ‘Calculate performance characteristics and get useful information from your validation data by statistical analysis’ to participate in this practical training session. Facilitator: Catherine Harrison (FERA)	Register (limited to 60 participants)
Webinar 8	From TPS organisation to analysis of the results: example of the TPS on ToBRFV	Wednesday 7^th of April, 2 pm	Content of the webinar: This webinar will be a complete and detailed presentation on the organisation and results of the TPS on ToBRFV. Presenter: Francesco Faggioli and Marta Luigi (CREA)	Register

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement n°773139.

The content of this website represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. It cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Research Executive Agency or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

VALITEST webinar series and training activities

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The concept of test validation in Plant Health

Objective of the series and activities

Format

Participants

Registrations

Agenda (Timings are CET time zone)

Test Performance Studies organisation

Objective of the series and activities

Format

Participants

Registrations

Agenda (Timings are CET Time zone)