January 07, 2026
Ring in the new year with three talented, hard-working leaders who will join the SLAS Board of Directors at SLAS2026. Please meet Melanie Leveridge, Brinton Seashore-Ludlow, PhD, and Hervé Tiriac, PhD, in this question-and-answer e-zine article. Along with six current SLAS Board members, this trio is prepared to invest their professional experience, enthusiasm and imagination to further SLAS’s mission to deepen engagement from its global community.
Melanie Leveridge, is Vice President of Assays, Profiling & Cell Sciences at AstraZeneca, UK (Cambridge, England) where she leads teams across Cambridge, Sweden and Boston accountable for the generation of cellular reagents, assay development, compound profiling and mechanism of action studies to progress AstraZeneca’s discovery portfolio. She brings deep knowledge of SLAS, built through her involvement with the organization since its formation in 2010 and her long-standing commitment to the life sciences community.
As a highly engaged SLAS member, Leveridge has served in numerous leadership roles, including conference speaker, scientific session and track chair, member and chair of the Americas Scientific Program Committee, and SLAS International Conference & Exhibition Chair in 2020. Passionate about transforming research through collaboration and innovation, she is honored to support SLAS’s mission.
Brinton Seashore-Ludlow, PhD, senior researcher at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (Stockholm, Sweden), focuses on high-content screening in near-patient models and serves as head of the Assay Development and Screening team at the Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden, a national infrastructure for chemical biology services. She has been actively engaged in SLAS through leadership roles including chair and vice-chair of the European Scientific Planning Committee, scientific session chair at the SLAS Europe Conference & Exhibition in 2019 and General Chair of SLAS Europe 2022. Seashore-Ludlow has also served as a representative on the Knowledge and Content Dissemination Committee and as a program member for Building Biology in 3D 2021, and is currently contributing to the European planning team for SLAS Europe 2026.
Hervé Tiriac, Ph.D., is an assistant research scientist in the Department of Surgery at the University of California San Diego Health, USA (San Diego, USA) where his laboratory pioneers patient-derived 3-D cultures and multi-cellular co-culture platforms to uncover and overcome drug resistance in cancer. Within SLAS, Tiriac has co-organized 3D modeling–focused symposia since 2021, served as associate and scientific track chair for two annual conferences and co-chaired the 2025 SLAS International Conference & Exhibition. He has also served as an associate editor on the SLAS Discovery editorial board and serves on the Americas Scientific Program Committee and the Knowledge Content and Delivery Council.
During his tenure with SLAS, Tiriac has championed diverse voices and emerging technologies and built content suited for academia, biotech and pharma.
Why did you become a member of SLAS, and what have you found most beneficial from your membership? And/or What would you tell someone who is considering becoming a member of SLAS?
Leveridge: I have been involved with SLAS most of my career. Attending SLAS meetings and events has allowed me to grow my network, exposed me to the latest scientific and technology trends and given me a platform to communicate my work over the years. I would encourage everyone to get involved; at whatever stage of your career there is something for everyone! More recently as a member of various planning committees it has been exciting to help shape the content of SLAS events and it is great fun working with the wonderful SLAS team!
Seashore-Ludlow: I became a member of SLAS early in my career when I first started incorporating automation into my research. What kept me engaged was the uniquely rich mix of academic and industrial scientists, and the opportunity to gain insight into global trends in drug discovery, technology development, and translational research. SLAS offers an active, welcoming community with many engaged members who are generous in sharing ideas and expertise. The annual conferences are a particular highlight—there is always something new, creative, or unexpected in the technology and automation space that sparks inspiration. For anyone considering joining, I would say: come meet the community. It is dynamic, collaborative, and genuinely exciting, and it will not disappoint.
Tiriac: I joined SLAS because it sits at the intersection of biology, engineering, and automation. As I was developing 3D models of disease as a postdoctoral fellow, SLAS membership provided access to expert collaborators, novel technology platforms, and resources that empowered my projects and led to important findings. Through SLAS, I have access to a global community across academia, biotech, and pharma; hands-on short courses; and opportunities to build programs that accelerate translation of our findings. If you’re considering SLAS, come for the science and collaborations, and turn your ideas into implementable workflows.
How have your professional and personal experiences prepared you to serve on the SLAS Board of Directors?
Leveridge: Professionally, having been engaged with and volunteered for SLAS in various ways for the last decade has given me a good understanding of the organisation, and an appreciation for its mission and values, which align strongly with my own. In my day job, I lead a team based across the UK, Sweden, and Boston within AstraZeneca’s Discovery Sciences organisation, applying the latest assay technologies, automation, and data science to advance drug discovery projects. My network, scientific background, and skillset are also therefore well aligned to SLAS’s content and membership. Personally, I enjoy working as part of a high-energy, global, cross-functional team and contributing to strategic discussions, all of which I am looking forward to on the SLAS board!
Seashore-Ludlow: I trained as an organic chemist and later moved into large-scale profiling and screening, which naturally positioned me at the intersection of many disciplines represented within SLAS. Today, as Scientific Director of the national Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden, I continuously survey emerging trends in assay development, automation, and screening to ensure that our community has access to cutting-edge technologies and expertise. My long-standing involvement with SLAS—through posters, talks, educational sessions, and roles as a conference, track, and session organizer—has given me a deep appreciation for the society’s mission and the breadth of its community. These experiences have strengthened my ability to connect across fields, spot opportunities for innovation, and help build environments where ideas and technologies can thrive.
Tiriac: I’ve co-organized the “Building Biology in 3D” meetings, served as associate and track chair for the Annual Conferences, co-chaired the 2025 scientific program, and joined the SLAS Discovery editorial board as an Associate Editor. These roles have honed my ability to design inclusive programs, align content to member needs, and deliver measurable outcomes.
As a newly elected Board member, how do you see yourself contributing to the SLAS mission to advance life sciences discovery and technology through education, knowledge exchange and global community building?
Leveridge: I aim to bring my knowledge of drug discovery, built through 20 years in pharma, to help raise the topics and challenges that are most important to the SLAS membership. I want to help nurture the next generation of scientists and SLAS contributors by continuing to advocate for and support early career activities. I will draw on my network, much of which was built with support from SLAS and similar organizations, to help SLAS continue to grow and reach a diverse global audience. Finally, I aim to be a great collaborator and team player with my fellow board members and the SLAS team.
Seashore-Ludlow: I plan to stay actively engaged in SLAS activities, including continuing my contributions at conferences and through my role on the planning committee for the 2026 European Conference. These efforts allow me to help shape scientific content, highlight emerging technologies, and create spaces where meaningful exchanges can happen. More importantly, I want to serve as a connector. My work spans academia, industry, and national research infrastructures, and I hope to use this perspective to bring different parts of the community closer together—whether by promoting educational opportunities, fostering collaborations, or helping surface needs and ideas from members at all career stages. I genuinely want to hear from the community.
Tiriac: I will proactively partner with fellow board members and the CEO to advance three key priorities: (i) Strategic growth: expand SLAS leadership in next-gen in-vitro models and automation via curated workshops and cross-society collaborations; (ii) Inclusive community: mentor new organizers and spotlight innovators globally; (iii) Translational impact: align meetings, courses, and publications with milestones that matter to patients and industry.
Where do you see SLAS making the greatest impact in the next few years?
Leveridge: SLAS’s conferences will continue to be very impactful in bringing the life science and drug discovery community together, driving networking, idea-sharing, and collaboration that fuel innovation. SLAS also plays a vital educational role for early-career researchers—showcasing industry trends, offering publishing opportunities, and providing mentoring, and this is something I’m passionate about building on and strengthening even more. Finally, I see SLAS playing a key role in helping its members build and prepare for the lab of the future, where automation and AI together accelerate drug discovery. With strong content and membership in both domains, SLAS is well positioned to convene the community to apply these technologies and collaborate on building the datasets needed for AI-driven discovery.
Seashore-Ludlow: I see opportunity for SLAS to continue building a truly global community, with particular momentum in Europe as the society expands its presence and engagement there. Strengthening these networks will create new avenues for collaboration, education, and cross-disciplinary innovation. Another major area of impact will be the rapidly evolving role of AI in life science research, especially in drug discovery and development. SLAS is uniquely positioned to provide a trusted forum for sharing best practices, discussing responsible implementation, and connecting technology developers with end users. By fostering these conversations, SLAS can help the community navigate this transition and accelerate the adoption of meaningful, well-grounded AI-driven approaches.
Tiriac: SLAS can define standards and best practices for complex model screening (organoids, co-cultures, microphysiological systems), catalyze AI/automation adoption for experimental design and analysis, and scale educational offerings to upskill the community in next-generation methods.
When not involved in work/SLAS activities, how do you like to spend your time? Hobbies? Sports? Family?
Leveridge: am a keen horse rider and have recently started competing again, after a long break, at local events with ‘Jack’, whom I borrow from a friend. I also enjoy traveling with my husband, Mat, most recently to the Canadian Rockies, which was incredible. I am usually busy planning my next holiday as soon as I return from one! Mat and I are dog parents to Roxy, our miniature Dachshund, who is the boss of our household.
Seashore-Ludlow: Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my family and staying active. I enjoy running, going to the gym, and being outdoors whenever I can. I also coach gymnastics, which has become a fun and energizing part of my week.
Tiriac: I focus on family as a parent of a toddler. Living in San Diego is a blessing, and our family often goes to the beach with our two dogs, to a park, or to the fantastic Zoo/Safari Park. I also enjoy hiking, sports climbing, and occasionally surfing.
Is there anything else you would like the SLAS readership to know about you?
Leveridge: Just that I am incredibly excited to be joining the board and look forward to working with the SLAS membership and professional team in 2026!
Seashore-Ludlow: I’m someone who gets energized by bridging disciplines and bringing people together to solve problems, and I value openness and approachability in all aspects of my work. I’ve lived and worked in both the United States and Europe, which has shaped how I think about collaboration and the importance of building strong, inclusive scientific communities across regions. I hope to bring this perspective—and a willingness to listen and connect—to my role on the Board.
Tiriac: SLAS has been indispensable to my success as a scientist. My north star is clinical impact and I would like to turn strategy into execution so that great ideas move from labs to patients.
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