2026 SPEAKERS

Silas Adekunle is co-founder and CEO of Reach Industries and creator of Lumi, the visual AI copilot for science. He previously created MekaMon and co-founded Reach Robotics.

Yousef Baioumy is a laboratory automation professional with a passion for bridging the gap between science and technology. With a background in automating complex workflows, integrating cutting-edge instrumentation, and streamlining data-driven processes, Yousef helps labs increase...

Dia Barakat is the Director of Laboratory Services at Riverview Health. He holds an MBA in Healthcare Management and is a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP) and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. With over 24 years of experience in healthcare, Dia is dedicated to reducing costs, eliminating ...

Caroline Briggs is the Founder and CEO of MyAmici, the lab operations platform trusted by over 200 biotech organisations to connect procurement, inventory, assets and compliance into a single operational backbone. A trained chemist, Caroline spent fifteen years in senior procurement and operations ...

20+ years as an automation engineer / scientist in the field of early drug discovery executing lead discovery (uHTS), lead evaluation (SAR/SLR), lead profiling (ADME-Tox) and sample management operations. Currently a Scientific Director, Head of Core Automation, responsible for automation and...

Ginger Cooper is an enterprise operations and commercial transformation executive with over 20 years of experience in the lab automation and life science industry. Throughout her career, she has helped implement hardware and data automation at some of the largest and smallest biotech and pharma...

Susannah (Susie) Cox, Ph.D. is a scientific leader at Corteva Agriscience, where she advances the use of automation, high-throughput experimentation, and data-driven approaches to accelerate discovery and product development. With expertise spanning chemistry, laboratory automation, and research...

Amanda Dioszeghy is a sustainability leader in the life sciences industry with experience building and scaling sustainability programs in complex laboratory environments. She specializes in transforming sustainability from isolated initiatives into strategic programs that reduce environmental...

Alayna is an Associate Director within Biologics CMC Developability at AbbVie. Her team oversees biophysical and structural screening of biotherapeutic candidates in late Discovery timelines. Training in structural biology and mass spectrometry inform her interest in developing mechanistic based...

Bill Gigante is an engineering leader with over 25 years of experience designing, developing, and deploying laboratory automation systems for the life sciences industry. At Amgen, he leads engineering initiatives focused on advancing research capabilities through...

Ali Glaser is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Automata, focused on advancing intelligent, scalable lab automation solutions. A scientist by training, she began her career as a molecular biologist at the bench and brings over 20 years of experience across antibody discovery, cell therapy, and...

Scott Hanton is the Editorial Director of Lab Manager. He spent 30 years as a research chemist, lab manager, and business leader at Air Products and Intertek. He earned a BS in chemistry from Michigan State University and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Scott...

Based in Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, Steven Heffner is a seasoned sales leader with a proven track record of driving growth and operational excellence in the life sciences and laboratory services sector. With over 14 years of experience, Steven has consistently delivered results by aligning...

Dr. Tracey, Founder, CEO & Chief Chemist of AcARRE and Founder of Ready To Launch PD comes from a long line of entrepreneurs from her Grandmother, Parents, Aunts and even sisters, so it is only natural for her to flourish in her own right at creating multi-use beauty products. Dr. Tracey is an ...

Billy Jun is a Product Manager at Roche where he designs and implements global data pipelines connecting laboratory instruments to digital platforms. He holds an MBA and a B.S. in Biomedical Electronics and leads efforts in data engineering, governance and lifecycle management. With expertise...

Brandon King is an accomplished leader with a proven track record in driving operational excellence across diverse sectors. Currently overseeing operations for a prominent Vaccines R&D site, Brandon brings a wealth of experience in optimizing systems, technology, and operations to deliver...

Gaurav Kumar is an Associate Director in the Data Science division at Teva Pharmaceuticals, with expertise in applying advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI to biomarker discovery throughout the drug development lifecycle. His current interests center on harnessing AI and Large Language...

Michael Langner is a seasoned professional with a strong background in research and development in the field of automation and digitalization. As the Head of Research Area at Fraunhofer IPA, he leads a team of experts in driving innovation and technological advancements in the laboratory...

Amy A. Lo, MD, MS, is Senior Director of Histopathology and Senior Principal Scientist–Pathologist at Genentech, where she leads strategy for three pathology core laboratories supporting drug discovery and development across multiple therapeutic areas. She also provides pathology expertise to...

Natalie O'Neil, Director of Innovation, leads RAPID's Operations within AIChE, the global professional association for Chemical Engineers. She is also a seasoned instructor at Rutgers University, teaching within the School of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Education. A...

Alisha is the Sustainable Labs Manager at the University of Pennsylvania and leads the Green Labs program. Alisha took on this role after working in a biotechnology lab while completing her master’s studies in environmental biology. She coordinates events like the annual freezer challenge and fume...

Burkhard Schaefer has been an active member of the laboratory informatics community for over 25 years. He started his career working on instrument control and data standards at Los Alamos National Laboratory and later the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He co-founded BSSN...

Dr. Sandip Tiwari is a pharmaceutical scientist and industry leader with over 26 years of experience in formulation science and drug product development. He currently serves as Head of Technical Services for Pharma Solutions (North America) at BASF, where he leads scientific initiatives focused on...

Adam Washburn is a Director and Lab Automation Lead at Eli Lilly and Company, where he leads efforts to modernize and transform analytical laboratory operations through advanced automation and digital integration. In this role, he works at the intersection of analytical science, engineering, and...

Robert H. Williams is Director of Customer Collaborations at Agilent Technologies. He partners with a diverse mix of industrial partners, research organizations, and academic institutions to design and deploy key technologies that will power the next generation of laboratories. His areas of focus...

During his career, Dr. Wisotzkey has held senior positions with clinical laboratories including Chief Scientific Officer and Clinical Laboratory Director in Pennsylvania, Alabama (Huntsville) and Tennessee (Nashville) and has served on numerous executive leadership teams to facilitate the growth of ...