February 7-11, 2026
Thomas Michael Menino Convention & Exhibition Center (MCEC)
Boston, MA, USA
February 7-11, 2026
Thomas Michael Menino Convention & Exhibition Center (MCEC)
Boston, MA, USA
The SLAS Innovation Award is a $10,000 cash prize recognizing the work behind one exceptional podium presentation. This award honors research that proves to be exceedingly innovative and contributes to the exploration of technologies in the laboratory, exceeds a benchmark or milestone in screening or the lead discovery process or demonstrates an advanced and integrated use of mature technologies.
The SLAS Innovation Award consists of a $10,000 check presented to the winning presenting author (see Rules and Regulations: Monetary Disbursement, below). Subject to SLAS requirements and the approval of the SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee, the winning presenting author is also:
The panel of judges is comprised of individuals approved by the SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee and represents various technology providers and users and research applications within the SLAS International Conference and Exhibition curriculum.
The SLAS President is the tiebreaker if a tie occurs after scoring is final. Judges may not have or have had any formal association with the candidates, either direct or indirect. Judges must recuse themselves from evaluating any candidate with whom they have a relationship, such as family, business, financial, or other, e.g., academic or student/professional association. Judges must sign a conflict-of-interest certification form ensuring no improper judging intentions. It is expected that the judges will declare any conflict-related issues. The SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee Chair decides on any questionable issues.
In assembling the program, the SLAS2026 Program Committee selects qualifying podium presentations from the abstracts received in the Call for Abstracts submission period. To qualify for consideration for the SLAS Innovation Award, an abstract must be received prior to the Call for Abstracts deadline of Monday, September 8, and the author must opt-in for consideration using the appropriate checkbox. When opting in, applicants will be asked to provide a statement of key innovation and impact of their work to the SLAS community.
Working from the conference's selected abstracts, the panel of judges scores all abstracts that have been identified (opted in) as candidates for the SLAS Innovation Award. Short course instructors, poster presenters and plenary speakers* are not eligible unless they have also been accepted into the SLAS2026 Scientific Program. All candidates must adhere to the SLAS abstract submission policies, timelines, rules and regulations.
The SLAS2026 Program Committee selects podium presentations for the SLAS2026 International Conference and Exhibition. The panel of judges will review and score the abstracts (See "Scoring" below). The Chair assigns all abstracts for evaluation to the panel of judges. A minimum of two judges will score each podium presentation.
Upon completion of the first scoring phase, the panel of judges will convene by teleconference to select the top 20 to 25 candidate presentations. These top candidates will be offered the opportunity to submit an extended abstract for review by the panel. The judges strongly encourage an extended abstract to allow better differentiation of the leading candidates. Failure to submit information in time for the next selection phase will jeopardize the candidate’s chances for inclusion as a finalist.
The judges will review the extended abstracts and then meet again to narrow the candidate pool to five (5) finalists. Upon completion of the second phase, the SLAS Innovation Award judges will announce the SLAS Innovation Award finalists who will present their work at the conference.
As part of the SLAS Innovation Award finalist selection process, we’re introducing a new and simple step: a short video pitch to accompany your extended abstract.
This video is not about production quality — it’s about giving our judges a quick, clear understanding of your innovation and its impact on the SLAS community. Think of it as your 5-minute elevator pitch. We’re not judging your video skills — we’re evaluating your ability to articulate the core of your innovation in a compelling and accessible way. This video helps the judging panel gain a deeper understanding of your work and will also serve to showcase your research to SLAS attendees in advance of the conference. Please refrain from relying on demos or slides.
What We’re Looking For:
In your video, please cover:
Submission Guidelines:
As part of the preliminary screening process, and in coordination with the Chair and panel of judges, a candidate author may be contacted to answer further questions.
*Plenary (keynote) speakers are not eligible to submit their plenary talk for consideration for the SLAS Innovation Award. However, individuals giving a plenary talk may also choose to submit an abstract to be considered for the SLAS2026 Scientific Program and to be considered for the SLAS Innovation Award upon acceptance into the program.
The panel of judges will attend and evaluate each of the candidate’s presentations and will collectively select the winner of the SLAS Innovation Award after all presentations are complete. While scoring the presentations, the judges will consider:
Each candidate’s presentation will be judged on a scale of one to five (with five being the best possible score; integers only). The scores of all judges will be consolidated for the final decision.
The SLAS Innovation Award panel is appointed by and serves at the discretion of the SLAS Awards and Grants Advisory Committee and the SLAS Board of Directors. The SLAS Innovation Award will follow the timeline below:
Candidates are encouraged to be Premier Members of SLAS to participate in the award program and/or win the SLAS Innovation Award; however, membership is not required.
All finalists are invited to submit a previously unpublished scientific manuscript (original research or a related review paper) for peer-reviewed publication in SLAS Discovery or SLAS Technology. This manuscript must be received before the $10,000 cash award is disbursed. These requirements will be outlined in the Letter of Intent, allowing SLAS to use the abstracts for press releases and other media announcements.
The panel of judges will review only those podium presentations selected and slotted for the conference by the SLAS2025 Program Committee (not short courses, posters or plenary presentations). All candidates must adhere to the SLAS abstract submission policies, timelines, rules and regulations*1.
The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the SLAS Innovation Award program:
Candidates affiliated with someone on the panel of judges are permitted to participate, but the judge must recuse him or herself from evaluating that candidate.
* The SLAS2026 Program Committee comprises of a Chair, Co-chair, Track Chairs and Associate Track Chairs. Session Chairs are not members of the SLAS2026 Program Committee, and therefore are eligible to participate.
*1Abstract Submission Policy
SLAS invites academicians, scientists and post-doctoral and graduate students to submit abstracts for scientific talks and poster presentations for this international educational forum by Monday, September 8. Presentations will be hand-picked by the Annual Conference Program Committee.
To ensure that your abstract receives proper consideration for this award, please be sure to include information on methods, results and conclusions in your submitted abstract.
Rules, regulations and guidelines are subject to change at the discretion of the SLAS Board of Directors in accordance with bylaws, policies and procedures.
The winner of the $10,000 cash prize will be announced on the final day of SLAS2026, immediately preceding the final keynote session. The following rules apply:
Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ethnicity, veteran’s status or physical or mental disability regarding the SLAS Innovation Award is prohibited. Each candidate shall be evaluated based on the award's criteria, which are tied to SLAS's exempt purpose of advancing the science and education of technology in the laboratory.