October 15th & 16th, 2025 | Philadelphia, PA
AGENDA
Philadelphia, 15 - 16 October 2025
Schedule
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Conference Opening Remarks
Fireside chat: Are we ready for the lab of tomorrow? Uniting data, automation and digital technology
- How can labs best integrate data and automation to improve efficiency and discovery?
- How can labs scale digital tech and automation without compromising data quality or integrity?
- What challenges exist in achieving full interoperability across lab systems?
- Which emerging technologies will most shape the lab of the future?
Keynote Panel: AI - More than a Buzzword: Practical applications for today's labs and preparing for what's next
- What are the most impactful AI use cases currently transforming labs?
- What infrastructure is needed to successfully implement AI in the lab?
- How can scientists and lab staff be effectively trained to work with AI systems?
- How should labs prepare now for the next wave of AI-driven innovation?
Break
Visit our Start-ups on the exhibition floor
Chair
Chair
Catalyst ACS: Software infrastructure for modular, resilient, and scalable lab automation
Most life science labs are under-automated and software is often a limiting factor. Effective automation requires powerful orchestration: software that supports diverse users, adapts to change, and keeps systems running reliably. In this talk, I’ll introduce Catalyst ACS, our modular, web-based control platform built for high-mix biological environments. It enables closed-loop science, interleaved workflows, industry-leading remote error resolution, simulation of new protocols and configurations and more. Built with a microservices architecture, Catalyst ACS is designed for continuous improvement. Automation doesn’t end at deployment, it begins there. Good software, not just good robots, enables more science per dollar and per day.
KnowLedger: An open digital notebook for research data management
Designing an automated pipeline for filling a data lake
This presentation will discuss the design of an automated system for taking analytical data from a variety of vendors with different source data stores and pipelining it into a common data lake. Analytical result sets processed in different vendor Chromatography Data Systems are taken from the original source data stores, converted into an Allotrope Simplified Model (ASM) JSON objects and then placed in a common location for ingestion into the end-user’s data structures. ASM is an industry standard, human-readable vendor neutral format developed by the Allotrope Foundation. The process is fully automated and runs in the background, requiring no action on the analyst’s part to convert and move the data. Furthermore, the use of vendor neutral formats such as ASM allows the system deliver data without knowledge of its intended use or the structures in which it will be stored.
Adapting quickly in a shared facility to optimize resources & support scientific operations
A Paradigm Shift in Analytical Testing Operation Model through Lab Automation and Digital Transformation for Biologics
ETC ways of working with next generation capture: moving beyond the traditional ELN
Step back to move forward: Identifying and solving problems to build your lab of the future
Visual AI: The foundation of AI-native science
Powering integrations through custom development
Connectivity on a global scale - The Rockefeller way of monopolizing data infrastructure
*Title TBC
Senior Representative, Uncountable
Operationalizing innovation: Building scalable, compliant, and digital-first lab ecosystems in the US
Scientific laboratories of the future: Fusing AI, robotics, and human ingenuity
Plug-and-Play ML for chemistry: integrating ChemXploreML, a flexible platform for customized property prediction
Using digital twins to predict treatment outcomes
Who controls your equipment bookings? Why this LabOps blindspot might be hurting your CapEx
Most organizations don’t have a clear owner for equipment booking, an operational blindspot that can quickly damage CapEx at scale. In this session, we'll explore how and why fragmented booking systems hurt lab performance, what happens when no one takes ownership, and how world-class labs are tackling the problem. Backed by real data and case studies, this talk will help you reframe equipment booking as a strategic control layer, not just an operational task.
Break
Visit our Start-ups on the exhibition floor
Chair
Panel: Cheaper, faster, smarter automation: How can we get them all at once?
- What is the main barrier to achieving cheaper, faster, and smarter automation simultaneously: tech, economics, or culture?
- What role can technologies (e.g., AI/ML) play in reducing costs while improving speed and increasing the quality of automation?
- How can open-source tools help lower the cost of advanced automation?
- What role does organizational culture and change management play in successfully implementing more efficient lab automation?
Panel: Enhancing lab connectivity for seamless, data-driven operations
- What are the key components of a well-connected, data-driven lab ecosystem?
- How can labs overcome silos between instruments, systems, and teams?
- What technologies are most effective for achieving real-time data integration?
- What security and compliance challenges come with increased lab connectivity?
- How can labs future-proof their data infrastructure for scalability and flexibility?
Building partnerships to drive digital transformation
*Title TBC
Developing the lab-in-the-loop: A digital ecosystem with embedded AI and automation
Translational medicine research logistics: From pigs to pediatrics
Are you the “go-to” person in your lab or department - whether you like it or not? Welcome to your support group. This presentation provides a crash course for logistic and operational support in a translational biomedical research lab. Geared for investigators, managers, and research technicians handling daily responsibilities in lab animal research. Much of this work involves proactive management of resources and expectations, but there are so many hats to still wear! Nick will dive into tips and suggestions from his own personal experiences to showcase the skills you need that weren’t on your hiring forms. Content includes regulatory considerations, supply chain recommendations, and animal model practices.
How orchestration is redefining laboratory operations
This presentation explores how Green Button Go empowers scientists with scalable laboratory automation. From small workcells to orchestrated biofactories, we highlight how orchestration, data services, and workflow design accelerate discovery. Learn how automation reduces errors, increases throughput, and enables reproducible science while future-proofing labs for larger integrated operations
Turbocharging an electron microscope with supercomputing power
Scientific workflows often require real-time data processing to enable time-sensitive decision-making. In this presentation, we will discuss how we connected two world-class scientific facilities: the supercomputing infrastructure at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and one of the world’s fastest electron microscope detectors at The Molecular Foundry. This combination enables seamless, high-throughput data processing during the experiment, accelerating time-to-science.
Exploring the role of forensic labs: The David Heisler case study
David Heisler, 30, was kidnapped from his Santa Clara, Utah home. Seven weeks later, his decomposed body was found in Mohave County, Arizona, about four miles from where he was allegedly left alive. Due to decomposition, the cause of death couldn’t be determined. Authorities recovered various items from the area, including an electronic device, which was analyzed by Utah Tech’s Digital Forensics Crime Lab. Findings from the lab were shared with investigators, leading to additional charges—including first-degree felony murder—against the three alleged abductors. A case study from the lab’s involvement in the investigation will be presented.
Thinking outside of the box: designing, planning and implementing custom lab automation
In this session, we explore strategies to develop custom automation systems, including key concepts as defining user requirements to align system capabilities with laboratory tasks, fostering collaboration with vendors for innovative solutions, and calculating ROI to ensure cost-effectiveness and efficiency gains. We highlight techniques for securing end-user and stakeholder buy-in, emphasizing clear communication and demonstrating concrete value. This talk provides insights and best practices for transforming laboratory workflows with bespoke automation, elevating productivity and precision within pharmaceutical research and development.
Beyond AI: accelerating research and learning with visualization
In an era where AI is often seen as the ultimate problem-solver, it’s easy to default to automated summaries. Yet, for research and lab protocols, it can miss nuances and oversimplify. This session showcases how visual learning remains essential for truly understanding dense methodological content. Drawing on real-world examples from hands-on research settings, Faisal Usta will share how visualization enhances reproducibility, preserves critical detail, and empowers scientists. Participants will leave with practical frameworks to harness the power of visualization, ensuring learning tools remain clear, trustworthy, and effective.
Panel: Power to the start-ups: How are US lab hubs are fuelling the next wave of innovation?
- What advantages does the US offer to start-ups innovating in lab spaces?
- Examples of new and upcoming innovation hubs tailored for startup growth
- What capabilities, funding and support are available to help scale up networks and business?
- How are you building community, infrastructure, and attracting investment to strengthen the innovation ecosystem?
Future of automation: from effortless user experience to zero defect and full reproducibility
In this session we will present an innovative automation solution enabling effortless automation, operation and multiomics, as well as will go beyond the liquid handler to showcase real-life examples of advanced digital solutions supporting zero defect and full reproducibility for every lab operator across end-to-end workflows. Join the discussion and bring home actionable ideas for your pharma, biotech or clinical labs.
Creating a connected factory: Integrating next generation automation with predictive analytics
Achieving a truly connected factory requires seamless integration of next-generation automation with predictive analytics to transform biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This presentation will explore how system connectivity, digital twins, and adaptive process controls enable end-to-end data visibility and real-time decision-making across complex operations. We will discuss the deployment of machine learning and advanced analytics to predict equipment health, optimize process performance, and ensure robust product quality. By examining such real-world applications and emerging trends, we will demonstrate how this digital transformation supports greater agility, resilience, and compliance—ultimately enabling the rapid, reliable delivery of innovative medicines to patients worldwide.
Digital by Design: AI-Driven Formulation to Accelerate Drug Development
Drug formulation is a critical barrier in drug development, where poor solubility, instability, and transport limitations often prevent promising candidates from reaching patients. Conventional approaches rely on precedented methods and trial-and-error, resulting in long timelines, high material use, and frequent failures. Intrepid Labs addresses this challenge with Valiant™, an AI-driven, robotic lab that integrates active learning, automation, and human expertise to explore formulations and deliver optimized, data-driven solutions in weeks, not months. By removing formulation as a barrier, Intrepid expands the developable space for new therapies and ensures that breakthroughs in discovery translate into real benefits for patients faster.
Break
Visit our Start-ups on the exhibition floor
Chair
Plug & play, miniaturization and AI: The evolution of automation for formulation development
Panel: Uniting people and technology: Driving change in the evolving digital lab
- What are the barriers to digital transformation in labs, and how can we foster alignment between people and new technologies?
- As labs digitize, how can organizations create upskilling programs that are practical, inclusive, and future-focused?
- How do we ensure that technology investments and people-focused initiatives lead to meaningful, measurable outcomes?
- What skills, attitudes, and team structures will define the high-performing scientific workforce of tomorrow?
Moving with the times-developing a lab to meet advancing and evolving automation needs
Panel: How can we build a globally connected future for automation and data security?
- What are some of the steps to ensure seamless integration and standardization into existing processes?
- What does the role of AI play in creating an automated environment and how can it affect data security?
- How to balance tailoring requirements across different countries?
- How can we manage ongoing and possible future geopolitical challenges?
Analyzing data with high throughput screening
Fab Labs - The power of connected labs in industry, education and community.
Fab Labs, or “fabrication laboratory,” as first conceived at MIT, have changed greatly over the years. Originally utilizing digital fabrication and advanced manufacturing to connect learning with technical exploration, “Maker Culture” has evolved into a global movement. Fab Labs have played a pivotal role in the rise of STEM education and now range from community workspaces to full-scale Industrial Labs. Moreover, Fab Labs have generated a worldwide cultural technological paradigm shift, integral to the evolution of all aspects of society.Fab Labs, or “fabrication laboratory,” as first conceived at MIT, have changed greatly over the years. Originally utilizing digital fabrication and advanced manufacturing to connect learning with technical exploration, “Maker Culture” has evolved into a global movement. Fab Labs have played a pivotal role in the rise of STEM education and now range from community workspaces to full-scale Industrial Labs. Moreover, Fab Labs have generated a worldwide cultural technological paradigm shift, integral to the evolution of all aspects of society.
Utilising digital tools in formulation: integrated AI & ML streamline R&D and innovation
Discover how the integration of AI algorithms and digital assistants is revolutionizing drug product development. This session will showcase real-world examples of how advanced digital tools streamline R&D workflows, enhance data-driven decision-making, and accelerate time-to-market for new therapies. Attendees will gain insights into the measurable business impact of AI-powered solutions, including improved efficiency, reduced costs, and increased innovation across the pharmaceutical value chain.
Export Strategies for Laboratory Equipment: Building Global Growth Pathways
- Share frameworks for taking lab equipment innovations from a domestic to an international footprint.
- Highlight how to assess market readiness (demand mapping, distributor partnerships, cultural factors).
- Explore strategies to build relationships with economic development agencies, accelerators, and local partners abroad.
- Provide practical steps for U.S. and non-U.S. companies to expand into new geographies efficiently.
Happy Hour Drinks at Future Labs Live Sales Stand 113
Future Labs Live Sales Stand 113
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Day 2 Opening Remarks
Uniting for impact: Harnessing collaboration and driving partnerships at Unilever
Next-gen labs: sustainable, innovative and collaborative
- How are digital tools enabling greater collaboration across teams and locations?
- What role does lab design play in supporting sustainability and innovation?
- How can labs measure and report progress on sustainability goals effectively?
- What cultural or structural shifts are needed to foster true lab collaboration and drive sustainability?
Break
Visit our Start-ups on the exhibition floor
Chair
Chair
Agentic AI in wet labs: context and connectivity become the constraint when the cost of code goes to zero
Agentic coding tools like Cursor or Claude Code are killer apps for AI and bring the cost of simple code changes to zero, though they struggle with complex tasks. In labs leveraging agentic coding, the human bottleneck is increasingly SME time to discover requirements. For agents, context and accessing data are the bottleneck: agents writecode well, but can't know the full picture of requirements and context when much of this lives in humans' heads. Further, data is often trapped in siloes like lab instrument PCs or Chromatography Data Systems. We discuss the digital path forward to maximize AI potential.
Patterns for full-stack lab automation: open methods integrating the workcell and lab ecosystem
Lab automation is increasingly including more than automating a protocol. Lab ecosystems get more complex; workcells come online; advanced analysis tools and AI get increasingly integrated with the lab environment at large. These tools mean executives are demanding more from automators, while the actual job of integrating gets more and more difficult. This session will focus on practical lessons and hard-earned perspectives from years of deploying deeply integrated labautomation systems.
AI starts with data: effective data architecture, quality and management to enhance AI capabilities
Engineering tomorrow: Tailored automation and advanced technology solutions for the lab of the future
Scientific AI in the lab: Generative breakthroughs
ChatGPT and other consumer AI Large Language Models are exploding in popularity. But in the lab, scientists need actionable intelligence – they need Scientific AI. Discover real, actionable Generative AI technologies that are transforming scientific workflows today. Discover how Virtual Advisors can extract insights, automate report writing, and streamline data formatting in ELNs, LIMS, and beyond. These intelligent assistants can also optimize new formulation designs and ensure compliance with complex food regulations. And see how you can tailor out-of-the-box Virtual Advisors to meet your unique research needs. Embrace the immediate impact of Scientific AI to accelerate discovery, enhance efficiency, and increase innovation.
*TBC Title
Senior Representative, ATS Scientific
Labs of future - Green and innovative pathways to sustainability
Sustainability in research is crucial to producing current global initiatives, and many laboratories remainsignificant contributors to waste and energy consumption. Brenna Knott, a My Green Lab Ambassador, addresses key drivers for change, leadership support and fosters a culture of sustainability. She integrates education and incentives so laboratories can reduce their costs and environmental footprint without compromising research quality. Brenna discusses recruitmentand certification ofsix laboratories, and changes she implemented. Immediately following certification, she then relocatedtwo of these laboratories 1,038 miles away to reintegrate at the University of Texas Medical Branch while maintainingtheir green endeavors.
Bridging the gap between how agentic AI is taught vs applied
FluoroSpot Automation at Merck: Successfully translating manual scientific workflows to fully automated systems
Shaping the future: Enhancing graduate training in AI and automation for the next generation of lab innovators
*Title TBC
Senior Representative, Beckman Coulter
Closing the circle: Inside the circular lab sustainable revolution
Break
Visit our Start-ups on the exhibition floor
Chair
Chair
Optimizing laboratory performance with artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing laboratory operations by enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and visibility. AI streamlines routine tasks such as sample tracking, data entry, and equipment monitoring, reducing human error and freeing up valuable researcher time. Advanced analytics and machine learning models provide real-time insights into lab performance, enabling predictive maintenance, resource optimization, and faster decision-making. AI-powered dashboards and reporting tools increase transparency and collaboration across teams. This presentation explores practical applications of AI in modern labs, highlighting strategies for successful integration to drive operational excellence.
Panel: Self driving labs: The next level of automation
- What are some key examples of SDLs?
- What infrastructure and data requirements are critical for autonomous lab systems?
- How can SDL enhance experimental design and accelerate discovery?
- How can teams transition from traditional workflows to self-driving lab models effectively?
Corporates as the Innovation Multiplier: Scaling Solutions & Cutting Emissions
More energy with less emissions, water resilience, sustainable infrastructure—these are a few of the most pressing challenges we face today. Meeting them requires more than bold ideas: it demands ecosystems of collaboration.
To achieve this, we need entrepreneurs to bring innovations, corporate leaders to bring scale, investors to bring capital, and policymakers to bring impactful legislation. This presentation will zero in on engagement pathways for startups and corporates, from common pitfalls to best practices—exploring why multi-stakeholder collaboration is the most powerful tool we have to decarbonize the global economy at speed and scale.
* TBC
Targeting 3 pillars of sustainability: Environmental, financial and educational
Chemical researchers are regularly exploring new methods to make their science robust and impactful. Now more than ever, we need to factor in sustainability into those new developments. This presentation will discuss our research team’s efforts in chemical, financial, and educational sustainability to ensure that research both in our group and abroad are moving towards a safer and more impactful future. This presentation will explore our team’s advancements in organic chemistry, equipment design, and early opportunities in education.
Hidden Pathologies of AI: Failure Modes, Sycophancy, and the Rise of Enlightened Intelligence
Overcoming Challenges and Roadblocks: Implementing High-Throughput Automation in the Lab
Keeping up with the pace of the pharmaceutical industry requires continuous optimization of workflows and lab technology to accelerate research and development. While some scientists are afforded the luxury of building “labs of the future” from scratch, most are presented with the challenge of modernizing legacy labs. From budget restrictions to space constraints to hesitation to embrace change, the road to implementing high throughput and automation can be a bumpy one. Enthusiasm alone is not enough to convince others to adopt new technology. What are some things we can do to drive innovation and manage change?
Building a culture of efficiency, how waste reduction saves millions and drives financial success in healthcare
With U.S. healthcare facing over $1.3 trillion in federal cuts over the next decade and clinical staff turnover nearing 25% annually, we can no longer afford to focus on what we can't control. As healthcare professionals, we must come together to lead change from within. This presentation reveals how eliminating the most overlooked yet powerful form of waste—the underutilization of staff talent—can ignite system-wide transformation. Through high-EQ leadership, frontline engagement, and tools like SWOT analysis and AI, you’ll learn how to reduce all eight types of waste, cut costs, improve retention, and uncover new revenue streams—supported by real-life case studies and actionable strategies.
Empower coatings performance assessment via computer vision
Conventional coating evaluation relies on subjective visual assessments, often resulting in inconsistent and time-consuming outcomes. This presentation introduces an AI-driven computer vision system that uses a custom imaging station with multi-wavelength lighting to capture coatings under controlled conditions. By applying both classical image processing and deep learning techniques, the system extracts quantitative insights for application testing. Integrated with automated data handling and web tools, the workflow enhances R&D efficiency and accelerates product development. This approach enables a scalable, consistent, and objective method for coating evaluation, showcasing the impact of digital transformation in materials science.
Holistic Freezer Practices: How closing freezer doors can open windows to sustainability
For nearly 5 years, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has been using freezer monitoring software to track temperature, door openings, and energy use for hundreds of ultra-low temperature freezers. Utilizing this data, JHU sustainability and facilities staff were able to identify outliers, including freezers consuming too much energy, underutilized freezers, and freezers that were being operated incorrectly. This presentation will examine how staff sifted through freezer monitoring data to identify these outlying units and the steps they took to reduce their energy consumption.
Creating Sustainable Visualization and Trending Tools
In today's data-driven world, the ability to visualize and trend data is crucial. This presentation explores various approaches to data visualization, ranging from simple Excel charts to comprehensive enterprise dashboards. We will discuss how people, processes, and tools influence the development of visualization capabilities. Effective data collection requires organized people, standardized yet adaptable processes, and tools that balance ease of use with technical capabilities. Additionally, we will consider the importance of consuming non-standard data, user experience design, scalability, and change management. Finally, we will explore the role of AI in enhancing the effectiveness of these tools.
Automation on analytical laboratory for finished product dosage forms
The pharmaceutical industry has long aimed to fully automate analytical laboratories, from sample preparation to final data reporting. Automation enables continuous sample processing, manages complex testing procedure, increases precision and data quality, ensures traceable audit trails for compliance, eases lab transfers, reduces errors and costs, and enhances safety. Many companies now use automated platforms for tasks like dissolution, content uniformity and assay/degradation across various dosage forms. This study is expected to encourage a wider application of the very advanced automated system usage in routine pharmaceutical analysis as dissolution and assay/degrades, and support stability studies in late phase product development and commercial phase.
Aligning for Impact: Sustainable Analytical Software Solutions Supporting Drug Discovery Across Borders
AstraZeneca’s commitment to global sustainability is exemplified by its innovative approach to analytical software supporting drug discovery. This talk highlights the development and impact of global sample tracking and automation solutions that enable efficient collaboration across regions. We will showcase environmentally sustainable practices integrated into our day-to-day scientific techniques, balancing scientific excellence with responsible resource use. Key learnings shared will summarize how unified digital strategies enhance operational impact and advance AstraZeneca’s mission worldwide.
