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New Matter: Inside the Minds of SLAS Scientists

New Matter: Inside the Minds of SLAS Scientists
Author: SLAS
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© 2025 New Matter: Inside the Minds of SLAS Scientists
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The official Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) podcast explores advances in automation, cellular imaging, big data and what's coming in the spaces between traditional scientific disciplines. Guests often include members of SLAS along with innovators, leading experts and other members of the global scientific community to highlight technology and even career stories. Episodes are released every week and subscribe to New Matter - available on all podcast players.
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Send us a text Live from SLAS Europe 2025 in Hamburg, host Emily Yamasaki, PhD, speaks with Lukas Gaats, MBA, MSc, CEO of mo:re (Modern Research) who is a winner of the SLAS Europe 2025 New Product Award. Based in Hamburg, mo:re is revolutionizing 3D cell culture automation with a modular, biology-first platform designed for organoids, spheroids, and tumor models. Lukas shares his journey from academia (studying regenerative medicine and bioprinting in Australia) to founding mo:re after ident...
Send us a text New Matter host Emily Yamasaki, PhD, speaks with Vasumitra “Vasu” Rao, MS, PhD candidate–recipient of the 2025 SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant–about his innovative research at the Jensen Lab (University of Michigan). Vasu’s work focuses on AI-driven characterization of non-model oral bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus mutans), aiming to predict microbial growth dynamics and biofilm formation using neural ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and automated high-through...
Send us a text In this episode, we look at a forward-thinking program that brought undergraduate and graduate students from Mexican universities to the SLAS2025 International Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. Host Emily Yamasaki, PhD is joined by: Cris Herrera Ramirez, a biotech engineer and U.S. Air Force veteran, who spearheaded the program to bridge the gap between Mexican academia and global research.Isabella Alvarez Kennedy, an undergraduate student in pharmaceutical chemistry fr...
Send us a text Emily Yamasaki speaks with Expert Intelligence's Lalin Theverapperuma, Ph.D. (CEO), and Andreas "Andi" Krupke, Ph.D. (Science Officer), on the SLAS2025 exhibition floor. The duo shares the company's inspiring journey from being an Innovation AveNEW participant in 2023 to now, highlighting their innovative AI technology designed to automate analytical data interpretation in the biotech and pharma industries. The conversation covers their unique Limited Sample Model™ (LSM) techno...
Send us a text Emily Yamasaki, Ph.D., is joined by 2025 Innovation AveNEW participants, React4Life's co-founders Silvia Scaglione, Ph.D., (CSO) and Maurizio Aiello, Ph.D. (CEO), on the SLAS2025 exhibition floor. They discuss their company's innovative organ-on-a-chip technology, the MIVO® system, and its applications in cancer research, nutraceuticals and dermocosmetics. The conversation highlights the unique features of their platform, its potential to reduce animal testing and future direct...
Send us a text New Matter is excited to announce that the SLAS Journal podcasts–SLAS Discovery Author Insights and SLAS Technology Authors Talk Tech–are merging with New Matter! All episodes will gradually be republished to the New Matter feed and referred to as a "Special Episode" in the title. To kick off this merge is the first episode of SLAS Discovery Author Insights featuring host Robert Howes, Ph.D., who speaks with SLAS Discovery Editor-in-Chief Bob Campbell, Ph.D. Recorded in 2020, t...
Send us a text Live from SLAS2025, Emily Yamasaki, Ph.D., speaks with David Jennions, Ph.D., Senior Director of Platforms and Systems Development at Grail and SLAS board member. Jennions discusses his role at Grail, which involves overseeing the development and deployment of large-scale automation systems for clinical diagnostics, ensuring they are fit for purpose and operationally efficient. Later, the two discuss themes of integration, communication and collaboration in lab automation, part...
Send us a text In this episode, Emily Yamasaki, Ph.D., speaks with Lab Donkey Director Safwan Hak at SLAS2025 in San Diego. Safwan shares his extensive background in software development and how his newfound passion for lab automation led to the creation of Lab Donkey, a software platform designed to streamline lab automation processes. Originating from the British term "donkey work," Lab Donkey's mission is to streamline tedious manual lab tasks with its automation software. Safwan highlight...
Send us a text In this episode, SLAS Scientific Director Lesley Mathews, Ph.D., speaks with returning guest Opentrons CEO Jon Brennan-Badal to discuss their mission to democratize laboratory robotics. The conversation delves into the integration of AI to enhance automation efficiency, explores vendor equipment compatibility via the Opentrons Automation Marketplace, and highlights the platform’s open-source adaptability for diverse scientific applications. Key Learning Points: Methods of prov...
Send us a text Are you someone who wants to hit the ground running with your first job in a laboratory? Or a company seeking to enhance the skills of your liquid handling specialists? In this episode, we discuss everything you need to know about the SLAS Applied Liquid Handling Boot Camp—a first of its kind course—that will take place April 8-9, 2025. What is this course?Who is it intended for?What does it provide participants?All questions are answered, and more! Want to learn more? Visit th...
Send us a text The SLAS2025 Short Course Program consists of 20+ courses that will provide in-depth instruction on topics, issues and techniques related to the laboratory science and technology community. Short Courses run from January 25-26, 2025. This episode features several instructors who give a preview of their respective courses such as lesson highlights, takeaways and why you should attend their course. Attending SLAS2025? Browse the full course program and signup for a course here...
Send us a text In this special episode, Sapio Sciences Vice President Product and Pre-Sales Rob Brown, M.Sc., Ph.D., speaks with SLAS Scientific Director Lesley Mathews, Ph.D., to discuss how AI, large language models and a unified data platform revolutionize scientific informatics. Rob explains the benefits of a single data object and unified platform that streamlines data analysis and integrates seamlessly with lab equipment. Sapio's virtual assistant, ELaiN®, leverages natural language fo...
Send us a text SLAS Scientific Director Lesley Mathews, Ph. D., speaks with several winners of our Tony B. Travel Award who presented at the SLAS Europe 2024 Conference and Exhibition. Congratulations to our winners! (Listed in interview order) Shitanshu Devrani, Ph.D. (University of Gothenburg) An Automated High-Throughput Platform for AI-Guided Development of Nanopore Membrane Biosensors and Real-time Edge Processing, Demonstrated with Wilson's Disease Sample Verification Leticia Manen, ...
Send us a text Colin Cox, Ph.D., Senior Director of Automation at Hexagon Bio, joins us for this episode. Colin participated in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) panel as a panelist at this year's SLAS2024 International Conference and Exhibition. We continue the conversation panel discussion by taking a closer look at supporting DEI initiatives in the workplace, along with examples. Key Learning Points: What DEI is and its importanceWhat it means to be an allyHow to get involved in ...
Send us a text In this special episode, Inventia Life Science Director Sales and Operations, US, Dwayne Dexter, Ph.D., and Thomas & Kipp Gutshall Development Professor Of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering April Kloxin, Ph.D., join Hannah for a discussion on the current state of 3D cell model challenges and how Inventia's RASTRUM™ Platform is providing solutions. Key Learning Points: The challenges researchers are facing while using 3D models for drug discoveryWhat differentiates 3...
Send us a text This episode highlights SLAS2024 New Product Award Winner Cytotronics. Director of Biology at CytoTronics, Shalaka Chitale, Ph.D., joins us to provide an in-depth look into the award-winning product the Pixel System. Chitale shares insights into the development and functionalities of the Pixel system, a revolutionary technology that combines cutting-edge electrical imaging with microplate-based assays. This system is set to transform cell analysis, enabling high-throughp...
Send us a text In this episode, we delve into AI adoption in early drug discovery with Raminderpal Singh, Ph.D., founder of HitchhikersAI. Raminderpal shares insights into HitchhikersAI's mission, which focuses on providing a collaborative platform for leveraging AI in drug discovery, emphasizing simple and effective solutions over complexity. They discuss the distinction between popularization and democratization of AI tools. He highlights the importance of making solutions widely accessibl...
Send us a text Recorded straight from the SLAS2024 exhibit hall floor – New Matter host, Hannah Rosen, Ph.D., speaks with winners of the Student Poster Award, Tony B. Award and the SLAS-NOBCChE Scholarship! Congratulations to our winners! (Listed in interview order) Transcript Available on Buzzsprout Student Poster Award Marissa E. Davies (National Institutes of Health) High-Throughput Characterization of Isozyme-Specific Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) Inhibitors Kui You (National Universit...
Send us a text Introducing our exciting new series - Peers Review! Get ready to explore fascinating topics in life sciences you may have heard of, but never fully understood. This week is all about Spheroids and Organoids! Hannah Rosen, Ph.D. is joined by SLAS Scientific Director Lesley Matthews, Ph.D., to discuss the differences between spheroids and organoids. Listen as they explore the advantages and trade-offs of using spheroids compared to organoids in research, touching on high-throu...
Send us a text This installment of our Accessibility in the Lab series features Brandon Miller, Client Solutions Executive and Diversity Services Lead at Clarkston Consulting. The discussion centers around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues in the lab and the life sciences industry. The conversation emphasizes how understanding diverse communities leads to better product development and marketing strategies. Brandon explains how DEI practices, such as hiring diverse talent and fos...