The 2023 SLAS Annual Meeting: A Preview of this Year’s Awards

A look at exciting events and new technologies on display at this year’s conference

“Innovation Accelerated” is the theme for the 2023 Society for Lab Automation and Screening (SLAS) conference to be held February 25 through March 1 in San Diego, CA. As the premier event for lab automation technologies and screening solutions, the show promises to deliver valuable insights to push lab productivity and innovation to new heights. In the spirit of accelerating innovation, here are a few late-breaking highlights in advance of the show.

The Innovation AveNEW companies have been announced

SLAS hosts a twice-annual event to showcase start-up and emerging life sciences companies and their products. The goal is to provide these companies with valuable market access and business feedback to foster development and industry success.

Applications are invited and evaluated by a review panel based on technical merit, commercial feasibility, and other qualifications. Companies that are selected earn a complimentary spot in the Innovation AveNEW row of the exhibition floor, paid expenses, and the chance to compete in the SLAS Ignite Award. This year’s selectees include:

• Abterra Biosciences – A spin-out digital proteomics company founded by investigators at UCSD, the company focuses on next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, and machine learning to map antibody responses to immunological challenges.
• Celldom – Focusing on single-cell biological processes, Celldom uses a range of molecular and functional platforms to identify proteins, gene expression levels, and other parameters related to cellular status. The flagship product is TrapTx, a single-use, DNA-barcoded microfluidic chip technology that allows cell culture and phenotypical investigations of tens to hundreds of thousands of single cells.
• Lino Biotech AG – The company has pioneered Focal Molography, a technology that allows measurements of molecular interactions in living cells without the use of labels or other disturbances. The technology platform aims to improve cell therapeutics' quality control by helping manufacturers improve production and development processes.
• Okomera – Focused on the automation and miniaturization of personalized cancer biopsy studies, the company has developed a device for ex vivo cancer testing using 3D spheroids. The technology enables the analysis of patient tumor cells under >30 conditions on a single microfluidic chip.

A wide selection of companies are included in this year’s competition, with technologies ranging from AI-assisted drug design to single-cell flow cytometry and more.

The 2023 SLAS Ignite Collaborations Presentations have been chosen

The Ignite Collaborations program enables researchers to showcase the latest research and technology developments to a diverse audience of potential collaboration partners. On the other side, industry professionals can interact with academic researchers and explore partnerships, contracts, and other collaborative agreements. The goal is to forge connections from both sides to accelerate innovations and commercial opportunities. The 2023 presentation list includes the following:

• The Neuro’s Early Drug Discovery Unit: Open to Partnerships for Innovative Neuroscience Drug Development
  Thomas Durcan, Ph.D.
  McGill University

• Innovative Separation Platform via Spongy Monoliths for Proteins, Antibodies, EVs, Viruses, and Cells
  Takuya Kubo
  Kyoto University

• An Automation Powered Clinical Testing and Research Core Facility Platform
  Dave Vance
  Boston University

• Picoliter Thin Layer Chromatography (PicoTLC) to Assay Lipid Signaling in Single Cells
  Ming Yao, Ph.D.
  University of Washington

Presentations will be held Tuesday, February 28, between 12 and 1 pm.

The 2023 SLAS Innovation Awards finalists have been selected

This annual competition consists of a $10,000 award sent to the author of the winning conference presentation. A panel of judges representing various technologies and applications evaluates submitted abstracts prior to the show based on: Impact on Life Sciences and Technology, Originality and Creativity, Quality of the Science, and Oral Presentation.

A preliminary round of selectees is asked to submit an extended abstract for a more complete evaluation. The finalists are then chosen, with the winners announced on-site.

The 2023 New Product Award competition is on

Last but certainly not least is the New Product Award competition, in which companies submit their latest product(s) for the opportunity to receive extra recognition through pre-conference publicity, media coverage, and on-site visibility.

The award will be granted to up to three winning product entries at the show.