Cristina Hidalgo | Senior Automation Scientist
astrazeneca
Cristina Hidalgo is a Senior Automation Scientist at AstraZeneca and a member of the High‑Throughput Screening (HTS) Team. She leads the transfer of cellular and biochemical assay onto HighRes Biosolutions Automation Platforms, develops and scripts Cellario protocols, and delivers pragmatic automation solutions covering hardware integration, software optimisation, and automation design to ensure robust scientific use of automated systems. Her experience in Drug Discovery includes Biochemical Assay Development, LC‑MS/MS bioanalysis, and GxP‑aware work across preclinical and clinical settings. Since 2024, she has focused on expanding Non-HTS automation activities across AstraZeneca, broadening the adoption of automation beyond classical HTS. She strengthens cross-team collaboration, trains scientists new to automation, and enables the implementation of novel assay formats on automated platforms. Cristina also addresses the operational and safety challenges of hybrid laboratory environments, working closely with Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) to ensure safe adoption of automation and to develop scalable, sustainable automation practices across diverse scientific workflows.
Appearances:
Day 1: 6th May @ 13:40
Agile Automation: How to expand the application of existing tools outside of their intended purpose
Automation at AstraZeneca has evolved beyond its original High Throughput Screening purpose to support a broader range of scientific assays. By adopting an agile and collaborative approach, we have successfully repurposed: existing automation platforms to accelerate projects, maximizing laboratory footprint, and reducing the need for future capital investment.
We will look at a practical case study that demonstrates how leveraging internal automation expertise and cross-functional teamwork enabled the end-to-end automation of biocatalysis workflows. We showcase how enzyme-driven drug compound synthesis can be delivered in a quicker, more sustainable and cost-effective way.
The session will also address the key challenges we encountered and explore the future opportunities for scalable, flexible automation solutions across the organization
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