Marshal Brennan of Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening

To further the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening’s exempt goal with regard to the technology and science of drug discovery and the development and use of biomolecular screening technology.

The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening recently appointed Marshal Brennan as the Scientific Director. Before joining the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, Marshal Brennan was the New Product Innovation senior product manager at the American Chemical Society. At the American Chemical Society, Marshal Brennan established the chemistry preprint repository known as ChemRxiv. Before this role, Marshal Brennan was the associate editor of natural chemistry. During this role, Brennan was tasked with the management of the publication and peer review method for journal submissions.

Brennan is humbled to be part of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening and the society’s mission to offer professional development, education, and information to the thriving and large community of laboratory automation researchers and developers. It’s a crucial moment for the development of laboratory automation and Brennan is eager to explore new methods to speed-up its growth and help its practitioners.

As the scientific director at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, Marshal Brennan offers strategic guidance for information content as well as the delivery of scientific subjects essential for the organization. Brennan is also involved in other associated services and programs including 2 technical journals — Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Technology and Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Discovery — as well as educational content and programming.

Marshal Brennan attained his chemistry doctorate at Illinois in 2015. Upon Brennan’s graduation, he joined the University of Texas at Austin for his postdoctoral work on the activation of the C-C bond.

The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening supports researchers from a wide range of industries and disciplines. The variety of collaboration and interdisciplinary research between the chemistry department of the University of Illinois and the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening gave Brennan the experience he required to steer the advancement of inquiry in the science of automation and discovery.

Marshal Brennan is currently a steering committee member of UCLA’s Advanced Degree Programs of Applied Chemistry and a member of the Technical Advisory Board for the Master of Science program of Applied Chemistry. Marshal Brennan was nominated for the Forbes list of “30 Under 30” in 2018 and received the Catalyst Award from the American Chemical Society the same year.

Marshal Brennan has been a great addition to the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening community. He has spearheaded various initiatives to advance the society’s mission and in doing so has helped bring together business leaders, engineers, researchers, and scientists working in drug development and discovery, consumer products, energy and petrochemicals, security sciences and forensics, agricultural and food sciences, clinical diagnostics, and informatics.

Since its establishment, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening has played and continues to play a leading role in Laboratory automation innovation. Through its conferences, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening is able to bring together like-minded individuals to network and learn from each other. It is also a great place to witness various lab automation technologies, as well as new technologies in the field.…

The SLAS 2020 Exhibition

Lab automation is essential in today’s labs, whether it is routine quality control testing of completed drug products, biopharma companies creating immunotherapy drugs, or academic laboratories doing research on gene mutations. The main benefits of laboratory automation are productivity, speed, and consistency — essentially eliminating the often tedious and laborious laboratory duties of scientists, providing them with more time to focus on more important aspects of science.

Laboratory automation tools include sample management software, benchtop liquid handlers, sample storage devices, and consumables like reagents, pipette tips, and microplates. For bigger laboratories handling hundreds or thousands of samples, there are work cells containing entire workflows, featuring tools such as thermal cyclers, robotics, and plate readers. The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening conference is also an essential event for analytical techniques, such as biosensors and cell imaging, which stand to gain from automation.

Some of the main professional disciplines that were represented at the conference include data informatics, nano- and microtechnologies, drug target strategies, biomarker discovery and applications, chemical biology, bioanalytical techniques, biologics discovery, high throughput technologies, and automation, and assay development and screening.

The conference facilitated professional, friendly interaction among technology/product users and providers, allowing attendees to make important connections, gather critical information, and be better equipped to help drive product buying decisions at their organizations.
Some of the SLAS 2020 Exhibition highlights include:

• The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Exhibition Theater that hosted various high-profile activities and Spotlight Solutions Presentations through the Exhibition and Conference.
• The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Booth where you could benefit from SLAS Career connections by interacting with representatives of the SLAS technical journals, SLAS team members and leaders, and other attendees of the exhibition. The booth also offered a great opportunity to recharge and relax.
• Innovation AveNEW, an area designated to host a selected group of start-up and emerging companies with promising new technologies.
• The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening NPA (New Product Award) that shines the spotlight on up to 3 new and particularly innovative services and products being showcased during the exhibition.
• The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Poster Gallery, offering the opportunity to interact directly with presenters and post authors, featuring hundreds of scientific posters.
• A presentation of new life sciences technology services, products, and discoveries from hundreds of leading service and product providers.

Through its conferences and exhibitions, and with the generous help and funding from companies like American Coradius International, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening offers forums for information exchange and education to facilitate the study of, and enhance the practice and science of laboratory automation and screening.

• Laboratory Automation

To further the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening’s exempt goal by advancing education and science related to laboratory automation, specifically by promoting and furthering the study and enhancing the practice of laboratory automation.
Biomolecular sciences

What is the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening?

SLAS, also known as the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening is a professional society of industry, government, and academic life sciences researchers together with providers and developers of laboratory automation services. The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening promotes scientific innovation through offering collaboration, professional development, and education that transforms research and unites scientists across disciplines. Since the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening was established in 2010, it has grown and now features thirteen million dollars in assets and generates over $6 million in revenue annually.

The mission of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening is to bring together researchers in industry, government, and academia to promote life sciences technology and discovery through education, global community building, and knowledge exchange. As part of its mission, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening holds conferences in Europe and the United States from different areas of the field of laboratory automation and screening. The conferences include educational courses and presentations. Since its launch, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening has grown its membership to a global community comprising over 19000 committed business leaders, technologists, researchers, engineers, and scientists. The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening provides relevant member services and benefits, important resources, and tangible educational programs to its membership.

The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening community advances the synthesis of new ideas, technologies, and partnerships that enhance laboratory workflows. The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening conference is an important hub for this group of experts, who are applying state of the art technologies to discover answers for crucial biological problems in an interdisciplinary approach. In addition to the community of experts at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening conference, Takara Bio provides attendees expert technologies, services, and guidance for advancing their protein discovery research, gene editing, stem cell, and qPCR. The society’s instruments such as the Smart Chip Real-Time PCR system and ICELL8 Single-Cell System featuring CELL STUDIO software, and their Guide it, Cellartis, and single-cell NGS portfolios offer researchers unique tools that facilitate unparalleled consistency to screening and automation efforts.

The strategic planning process of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening acts as a progress measuring framework, as well as a decision making guide. This plan is flexible and can be recalibrated when needed to take advantage of new opportunities offered by changes in economic conditions, market trends, and member priorities. The plans established help to allocate resources in ways that optimally serve the organization and its members.

SLAS 2020, the ninth edition of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening International Exhibition and Conference was held in 2020 from January 25th to January 29th. The conference, which is SLAS’ flagship event, brought together thousands of government professionals, academics, researchers, and scientists seeking to leverage life sciences technology and exploration to drive results for their organizations.

The conference showcases laboratory automated systems and associated products, as well as presentations and short courses. It is widely regarded as an essential venue for Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening initiatives, member enrichment, and networking.…