Conference

SLAS2016 in Pictures

SLAS2016 attracted 6,277 participants to San Diego from January 23-27, a record high for the Society’s annual conference and exhibition which marked its five-year anniversary at SLAS2016. Enjoy this photo review of the event and get a glimpse of the tremendous spirit of community that was so prevalent in San Diego. To be part of the SLAS community, join us at , taking place February 4-8 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, USA.

SLAS FUNd Run

On the morning of Jan. 25, SLAS held its first official FUNd Run to benefit the new SLAS Educational Fund. Hundreds of SLAS2016 attendees convened in the pre-dawn hour to run, jog or walk the 5k route along the Pacific coastline. While no registration fee was required, participants who made a donation to the Education Fund received a commemorative SLAS FUNd Run performance shirt.

Opening Session & Keynote

The Conference Welcome and Opening Keynote session were held on Monday, January 25. The proceedings opened with welcome comments by outgoing SLAS 2015 President Dean Ho, 2016 President Richard Eglen, SLAS CEO Greg Dummer, SLAS European Council Chair Emilio Diez and SLAS2016 Conference Co-Chair Doug Auld. During this session, Diez announced that SLAS would hold an annual conference in Europe beginning in June 2018, and Eglen announced some significant enhancements to the SLAS Membership Model, including the launch of the SLAS Fellow Membership category coming later in 2016. The opening keynote by Michael Gottesman, National Cancer Institute, was delivered virtually as Dr. Gottesman was unable to travel due to significant snowfall on the US Atlantic Coast. Still, his informative keynote was delivered successfully via Skype. by the general public.

Special Interest Group (SIGs) Sessions

SIGs are an important component in the SLAS conference program, allowing attendees with similar job roles and interests to interact and learn from each other’s experiences in a minimally structured environment. for a complete list of SLAS SIGs and how to participate on a year-round basis.

Academic Drug Discoveries SIG

Phenotypic Drug Discovery SIG

Stem Cell SIG

Special Interest Groups

SLAS2016 Exhibition

The SLAS2016 Exhibition featured 320 multinational companies showcasing the latest in life sciences discovery and technology products, services and innovation. Always a highly-rated aspect of the annual conference experience, the SLAS2016 Exhibition featured in-booth demonstrations, exhibitor tutorials, daily receptions, the SLAS Member Center, and SLAS Innovation AveNEW, which hosted a series of start-up and nascent companies receiving special attention and visibility courtesy of SLAS. The new Monday — Wednesday schedule for the Exhibition received much praise, and allowed more attendees to peruse the show floor at their convenience.

Poster Gallery

An SLAS-record setting 400 posters were presented at SLAS2016, and many poster authors took advantage of the opportunity to present their work directly to attendees. Valuable exchanges between poster authors and attendees is a hallmark of SLAS events.

SLAS Fifth Anniversary Celebration On Board the USS Midway

The final evening of SLAS2016 was one to remember as SLAS2016 attendees were treated to an exclusive reception on board the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway stationed in San Diego Harbor. Sponsored by Hamilton Company, almost 2,000 attendees explored the historic warship, which featured interactive exhibits, knowledgeable docents, documentary films, food and beverage.

Closing Keynote Presentation: The Right Kind of Crazy

Wednesday, January 27, featured a conference-closing keynote presentation by Adam Diedrich Steltzner, a renowned aeronautics engineer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In 2012, Steltzner led a breakthrough team of engineers that invented the pioneering landing system that spectacularly placed the Curiosity rover on the Martian surface. Steltzner captivated the SLAS community with a presentation entitled, “The Right Kind of Crazy: A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership and High Stakes Innovation,” which shared leadership and management insights that could be applied to any professional within any type of organization.

Award Winners

2016 Innovation Award

Nine podium presentations were selected as finalists for the 2016 SLAS Innovation Award. The final round of judging took place during SLAS2016. Following deliberations at the conference, the judging committee recognized Shana Kelley, University of Toronto, as the 2016 SLAS Innovation Award winner for her presentation, New Devices for the Detection and Classification of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. In conjunction with this award, Shana received a $10,000 cash prize and has her name added to the list of previous winners of this prestigious award.

Shana Kelley, University of Toronto, accepts the 2016 SLAS Innovation Award and $10,000 prize from Awards Committee Chair Kyle Lapham
Shana Kelley, University of Toronto, accepts the 2016 SLAS Innovation Award and $10,000 prize from Awards Committee Chair Kyle Lapham

New Product Awards

320 companies participated in the SLAS2016 Exhibition, 40 of which submitted new products to be considered for the SLAS2016 New Product Award. The winners of the SLAS2016 New Product Awards were: ALVEOLE (product: PRIMO), LabMinds (product: REVO), and AxionBioSystems (products: Lumos and Maestro APEX)

Aveole, product Primo. Luc Talini with Matthieu Opitz and Aurélien Duboin
LabMinds, product Revo. Dr. Andy Johnson, Dr. Jochen Klingelhoefer, John Drohen
AxionBioSystems, products Lumos and Maestro APEX. Catherine Parrish and associate

Student Poster Awards

Student poster winners at SLAS2016 included: Joohun Kang, Wyss Institute/Harvard University, Carrie Lovitt, Griffith University Australia, and Masturah Bte Mohd Abdul Rashid, National University of Singapore

The People and Places of SLAS2016

SLAS genuinely appreciates the attendance and contributions of the nearly 6,300 participants that made SLAS2016 the tremendous learning, networking and community gathering event it was. The unique culture of SLAS thrives because of the exceptional and diverse combination of professional backgrounds, roles, disciplines and interests brought to bear and shared through our attendees. Thank you for playing an important role in what makes SLAS unique, valuable and enduring.

We sincerely hope to see you next year at , Feb. 4-8 in Washington, DC.