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This track will focus on recent innovations across the assay development and screening discipline, including the adoption of novel technologies and the implementation of effective, innovative screening campaigns and hit triage strategies. Attendees will learn about the development of robust, physiologically relevant biochemical, biophysical and cellular assays that are crucial for identifying novel biology, targets, and modalities that engage these targets. There will be an emphasis on recent case studies of cutting-edge assay, predictive, and perturbation approaches that have increased the success rates of target discovery and lead identification. The track will also highlight emerging approaches that have been coupled with next-generation therapeutic modalities and novel mechanisms of action to broaden the scope of target classes that can be drugged. Taken together, the overall track will highlight advances in the fields of assay development and screening that enhance efforts to identify, validate and characterize novel targets and potential lead molecules.

Session 1: Emerging Novel High Throughput Assays
Session Chair: Caitlin Mills, PhD, Harvard Medical School
High-throughput assays can take many forms. The aim of this session is to highlight novel assays that can be deployed in diverse biological contexts and have potential for widespread adoption beyond the labs where they were established.

Session 2: Screening Complex In Vitro Models
Session Chair: Talya Dayton, PhD, EMBL Barcelona
There have been many recent advances in the in vitro modelling of complex, multi-cellular systems leading to the need for more advanced high-throughput and high-content assays. This session will highlight innovative screening approaches for complex, multicellular in vitro models used in biomedical research for discovery and drug development.

Session 3: CRISPR Screens with High-Dimensional Readouts
Session Chair: John Doench, PhD, Broad Institute
Viability-based CRISPR screens are a mainstay in functional genomics, offering a scalable and straightforward approach to identify genes essential for cell growth or survival. However, the simplicity of the readout limits the types of biological questions that can be addressed. Many phenotypes of interest, such as changes in cell morphology, differentiation state, or transcriptional programs, are often invisible to this approach. This session will highlight cutting-edge strategies that couple CRISPR perturbations to high-content phenotyping, with a focus on imaging-based assays and single-cell RNA sequencing, unlocking new dimensions of cellular biology.

Session 4: Biochemical and Biophysical Proximity Assays
Session Chair: Mahmoud Amine Sadok, PhD, Amgen
Induced Proximity-based therapeutics rely on small molecules that bring a protein of interest to the vicinity of an effector promoting the formation of a ternary complex to achieve optimal target engagement and functional efficacy. This session will discuss the latest progress in biochemical and biophysical screening strategies to accelerate the discovery and optimization of Molecular Glue Degraders.

Session 5: Advanced Imaging and High Content Assays
Kaylene Simpson, PhD, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Advances in high-content imaging continue to redefine how we interrogate cellular phenotypes, target biology, and compound activity. This session will showcase emerging strategies that integrate advanced imaging screens and computational approaches to drive chemical and biological discovery at scale.

Session 6: From Virtual Screening to Validation
Session Chair: John Moffat, PhD, Genentech
Advances in machine learning and AI are transforming our ability to predict cellular responses to genetic and chemical perturbations, unlocking new opportunities in target discovery, safety assessment and therapeutic design. This session will highlight cutting-edge methods for in silico screening, including AI-based modeling of cellular phenotypes, paired with experimental validation to accelerate biological insight.

Dive into the latest breakthroughs in automation for chemical and biological research, from high-throughput screening to streamlining lab processes, and enhanced data flow and quality. We’ll explore how cutting-edge tools, technologies, and integration approaches are reshaping experimental workflows, with a spotlight on engineering and applications that push the boundaries of automation in labs. It's all about making research faster, smarter, and more impactful.

Session 1: AI-Enabled Chemistry: Automating Iterative Discovery and Synthesis
Session Chair: David Calabrese, PhD, Sanofi
This session will feature presentations on advances in the development and application of automation technologies to facilitate chemical synthesis, screening of chemical reactions and automating the DMTA cycle.

Session 2: Integrated and Automated Approaches to Accelerate Lead Generation Across Therapeutic Modalities
Session Chair: Jesse Mulcahy, BA, Eli Lilly
Explore how integration of diverse data sources, automated workflows, and advanced analytics can accelerate lead compound identification and innovative cell therapies, transforming drug discovery and cell therapy development.

Session 3: Streamlining Lab Operations: Innovations in Automated Transport for Labware
Session Chair: Nicolas Houvenaghel, AstraZeneca
Explore innovations in automated transport for scientific labware using mobile robotics and beyond. This session highlights technologies that optimize efficiency, reduce manual intervention and elevate laboratory productivity.

Session 4: Automated Cell Technologies: Engineering Scalable Platforms for Cell Therapy and Bioprocessing
Session Chair: Wali Malik
Explore how automation is transforming development and manufacture of cell therapies, highlighting platform strategies, closed-loop systems and modular workcells that support high-throughput, GMP-aligned workflows.

Session 5: From Bench to Backend: In-House Automation Tools and Custom Software Solutions
Session Chair: Charles Warren
Dive into practical examples of labs building their own automation tools, LIMS integrations and custom scheduling software to overcome bottlenecks and align automation with real-world constraints.

Session 6: Next-Gen Intelligence: AI-Driven Operations and Smart Lab Automation
Session Chair: Joel Karpiak, GSK
Discover how artificial intelligence reshapes lab operations—from predictive maintenance to AI-guided experimentation—accelerating discovery and driving more autonomous lab environments.

Attendees will learn from industry and academic leaders about novel cellular technologies and their application in the treatment of disease, as well as the generation of disease-relevant models for drug discovery and pre-clinical development. This track will highlight in vitro models used for illuminating functional genomics and pharmacology, ADME or toxicity analyses. The technologies covered will include the generation and use of complex in vitro models including spheroids, organoids, and microphysiological systems. The track will also include cellular therapeutics and cell technologies to support biologics and gene therapy approaches.

Session 1: Complex In Vitro Models (CIVM) in Early Discovery
Session Chair: Celine Eidenschenk, Genentech
Learn about novel cellular technologies applied in early discovery, including medium-to-high throughput complex in vitro models for efficacy, safety and ADME.

Session 2: Complex In Vitro Models (CIVM) in Lead Optimization
Session Chair: Amanda Ouchida, PhD, Takeda
Hear from presenters using complex models, such as tissue-on-chip systems, to address key questions in late discovery and mechanistic investigations.

Session 3: Complex In Vitro Models (CIVM) to Support Regulatory Filing
Session Chair: Graham Marsh, PhD, C-Path
This session will cover CIVM development for regulatory filings and experiences of those involved in regulatory processes, in light of ICH guideline updates and FDA modernization legislation.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly integral to accelerating life science R&D, moving rapidly from specialized tools to core operational components. Making meaningful progress now demands innovation across the entire spectrum; from refining predictive algorithms to deploying them robustly at scale and even automating the experimental cycle itself. This track brings together technical experts tackling the critical frontiers required to ground computational power in biological reality and laboratory practice. We will delve into critical technical frontiers encompassing the development and validation of predictive biological models, the engineering challenges of deploying these tools reliably at scale, and the emerging integration of AI within automated laboratory experiments. Join fellow scientists and engineers for technically-grounded discussions on methodologies, practical implementations, validation strategies, and hard-won lessons across these vital areas. This track provides a forum to share progress and address the interconnected challenges of building, scaling, and deploying the next generation of truly impactful AI in the life sciences.

Session 1: Predictive ML Models in Drug Discovery and Development
Session Chair: Peter McLean, PhD, Recursion
This session will focus on leveraging complex biological data, model design advances, experimental validation and application of predictive ML models to drive actionable insights.

Session 2: Foundation Models and Agents for Target Identification
Session Chair: Tommaso Biancalani, PhD, Genentech
Explore advances in foundation models trained on biological data or text and AI agents orchestrating multiple models for reasoning and decision-making in target discovery.

Session 3: AI-Driven Lab Experiments
Session Chair: Yao Fehlis, PhD
Explore AI-powered self-driving lab systems enabling dynamic feedback loops between prediction and execution, introducing new layers of autonomy in experimental discovery.

Micro- and nanotechnologies continue to transform high-throughput biology and medicine, offering unprecedented control over physical and chemical environments at the smallest scales. By leveraging the unique properties of materials and devices at the micro and nanoscale, researchers are digitizing biology and accelerating breakthroughs in life sciences, diagnostics, and cellular engineering. This track will showcase recent advances in fundamental understanding of micro- and nanofluidic systems that are poised to redefine what’s possible in diagnostics and lab automation, highlight emerging wearable technologies that promise to revolutionize real-time diagnostics and therapeutic delivery, and explore the cutting-edge of droplet-based fluidic miniaturized systems as applied to cell programming, genome engineering, and phenotypic screening to unlock new frontiers enabling translation.

Session 1: Fundamentals in Micro- and Nanofluidic Systems Driving Innovation in Lab Automation
Session Chair: Sumita Pennathur, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara
This session will highlight foundational discoveries driving transformative technologies in diagnostics, sample prep, assay development and high-throughput biological workflows.

Session 2: Personalized Medicine in the Wearable Age: Monitoring, Analysis, and Applications
Session Chair: Elliot Botvinick, PhD, UCI
Explore innovations in wearable devices for real-time health monitoring, molecular sensing, and therapeutic feedback, applied to chronic disease management, remote patient monitoring and early detection.

Session 3: Next Generation Droplet Microfluidic Technologies
Session Chair: Alison Hirukawa, PhD, Drop Genie
Learn more about droplet-based platforms for cell programming, genome engineering, and phenotypic screening, with translational potential across mammalian, microbial and cell-free systems.

 

Advances in Drug Discovery Technologies and the need to expand the target space in diseases with unmet medical need have created opportunities to pursue difficult targets with New Modalities. This session will spotlight emerging therapeutic strategies including targeted protein degradation, molecular glues, nucleotide and protein/peptide therapeutics, and other novel therapeutic approaches for difficult targets, as well as new platform technologies that are utilized to enable New Modality-based drug discovery and delivery.

Session 1: Advances in Proximity-Inducing Modalities
Session Chair: Dane Mohl, PhD, Amgen
Hear about molecular glues, bifunctional small molecules, and innovative covalent chemistry are bringing previously challenging drug targets into focus. This session highlights recent advancements in these new modalities, their challenges and the tools required to identify potent and effective molecules.

Session 2: Emerging Technologies for Drug Discovery
Session Chair: David McSwiggen, PhD, Eikon Therapeutics
This session showcases breakthrough technologies expanding possibilities in target identification, molecular design and therapeutic development.

Session 3: Utilizing Alternative Pathways for Targeted Protein Degradation Beyond PROTACs
Session Chair: Matthew Calabrese, PhD, Pfizer
The focus of this session will be on pathways and methods beyond heterobifunctional chimeric degraders (PROTACs), including molecular glues, protein homeostasis modulation and novel TPD screening approaches.

Session 4: Nucleic Acid-Targeted Therapeutics
Session Chair: Rachel Moore, PhD, AstraZeneca
Learn more about cutting-edge approaches to modulate RNA and DNA, offering new strategies to treat diseases driven by aberrant gene expression, splicing or non-coding RNA function.

Session 5: Next-Generation Protein/Peptide Therapeutics
Session Chair: Hannah Bolt, PhD, AstraZeneca
Explore innovations driving the next wave of protein- and peptide-based therapeutics—from engineered cytokines and multi-specific antibodies to cell-penetrating peptides, macrocyclic scaffolds and synthetic biology-inspired constructs.

Session 6: Difficult Targets – Expanding Target Space
Session Chair: Aleksandra Nita-Lazar, PhD, NIH
This session explores emerging strategies including genomics and proteomics approaches, technologies and modalities designed to redefine what is considered druggable.

 

Explore cutting-edge technologies transforming disease detection and patient care in this dynamic track. From critical care screening innovations to breakthroughs in next-generation sequencing, discover how diagnostic applications are revolutionizing clinical practice. Leading experts will demonstrate how AI and machine learning are enhancing screening precision, accelerating biomarker analysis, and significantly improving patient outcomes. Join us at the intersection of technology and clinical applications shaping the future of healthcare.

Session 1: From Detection to Decision: Advancing Critical Patient Care Through Screening
Session Chair: Ricard Martin, MBA, Qiagen
Critical care environments demand rapid, accurate diagnostic decisions. This session explores innovative screening technologies in emergency medicine and intensive care, automated screening platforms, regulatory considerations and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Session 2: Next-Generation Sequencing: Breakthroughs and Challenges in Screening Applications
Session Chair: Jeffrey Hung, PhD , AccufyDX
Explore NGS applications in screening programs, liquid biopsy screening, comprehensive genetic carrier screening, pathogen surveillance and emerging single-cell and long-read sequencing techniques.

Session 3: AI-Powered Screening: Harnessing Machine Learning and Big Data for Diagnostic Innovation
Session Chair: Amir Trabelsi, Genoox
This session will showcase AI algorithms enhancing screening accuracy, predictive modeling for disease risk stratification, automated quality control, and integration of genomics, proteomics and clinical metadata.