10 September 2026
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Leiden, Netherlands
Sponsored by:
10 September 2026
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Leiden, Netherlands
Sponsored by:
Join SLAS and the Leiden life sciences and laboratory automation communities for a free Regional Community Meet-Up that brings together researchers, industry professionals and automation experts to connect, exchange ideas and explore the innovations shaping the future of biotechnology. This event provides an opportunity to engage with peers and learn how emerging technologies are advancing life sciences research and laboratory automation.
The featured session, Scaling the Future of Biotechnology: Automation from Cells to Proteins, will explore how automation is transforming the way biological innovations are developed and manufactured. Experts in regenerative medicine and protein engineering (view our speakers below) will share their perspectives on how robotics, high-throughput workflows and AI-enabled approaches are driving scalability, reproducibility and faster scientific discovery. Through two presentations, this session will showcase applications ranging from automated microtissue production for next-generation therapies to machine learning-powered protein engineering, highlighting how automation is shaping the future of biotechnology.
After the meet-up, stay to network with peers and enjoy an optional self-guided tour of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
10 September 2026 | 13:00 – 17:00 CET
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR
Leiden, Netherlands
| 10 September | |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Optional Tours of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center |
| 13:00 – 13:45 | Registration open | Coffee & Networking |
| 13:45 – 14:05 | Welcome and Opening Remarks |
| 14:05 – 14:40 | Presentation by Kenny van Kampen, ReGEN Biomedical and Q&A |
| 14:40 – 15:15 | Presentation by Michelle Vandeloo, Cradle Bio and Q&A |
| 15:15 – 17:00 | Networking Apero with time for optional self-guided tours of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center |
Kenny van Kampen, PhD |
Product Manager - Digital Science & Automation Solutions at Thermo Fisher Scientific
Kenny van Kampen is a biomedical engineer and automation specialist with over nine years of experience in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and laboratory automation. He holds a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences with a specialization in Pathobiology and earned a PhD in Biofabrication, providing a strong foundation at the intersection of biology and engineering. His work focuses on developing automated manufacturing workflows, bioreactor platforms, and advanced technologies for complex cell-based products. As internal project lead of the Horizon Europe NEOLIVER project, he coordinates international collaborations aimed at advancing automated manufacturing solutions for tissue-engineered products. His interests lie in combining automation, biofabrication, and regenerative medicine to enable scalable and reproducible production of next-generation healthcare technologies.
Michelle Vandeloo |
Research Associate/Lab Automation Engineer at Cradle
Michelle is a Research Associate/Lab Automation Engineer at Cradle, where she develops high-throughput workflows to build and test proteins for Cradle's ML models. She holds an MSc in Synthetic Biology and has over 8 years of experience with labs in Canada and the Netherlands, specialising in the intersection of biology and lab automation.
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