At the moment, a lot of our energy is focused on maximising the potential of our new automation facility. We’re reaching beyond our established ways of working, branching out to support new collaborations, and exploring how automation can serve areas of science it wasn’t originally designed for. One big focus is preparing to pilot lab orchestration, which will tie together instrument scheduling, better remote management, data integration, and workflow coordination into one seamless experience for users. This should allow us to help scientists spend more time on impactful research instead of managing logistics. Collecting the right performance metrics is also a priority for us—it helps us measure reliability and efficiency, showing us where to invest our energy as we continue to improve.

I’ll be sharing how we’re building our own ‘lab of the future’ at AstraZeneca—transforming the way we support science through a new automation hub and a strong emphasis on flexibility and innovation. My talk will cover the practical realities of running a large, multi-user facility, focusing on how we are bringing people, processes, and technology together to drive meaningful change.

A major theme will be our plans to pilot lab orchestration: connecting instrument scheduling, seamless data integration, and end-to-end workflow coordination. This will make lab processes simpler for scientists, help us work more efficiently, and put us in a better position to tackle new scientific challenges.

Another area I’ll touch on is our growing focus on metrics—how collecting and interpreting the right performance data gives us insights to continuously improve our automation platforms and make data driven decisions.

Throughout my talk, I’ll focus on what we’ve learnt so far, our plans for the future, and how we’re making sure our automation keeps pace with the changing needs of science.

Balancing the need for reliable, day-to-day operations with the drive to innovate and support new scientific directions is always a challenge. As research projects grow in complexity and diversity, and as we begin to support groups outside of High Throughput Screening (HTS), we’re constantly adapting our automation platforms. This often means finding creative solutions to unexpected issues and pushing our systems to do more than they were originally designed for.

Ensuring we can maintain high-quality, efficient workflows while also remaining flexible for whatever science brings is challenging, but it’s also exciting to see what we can achieve!

I attended Lab of the Future last year and found the mix of presentations and panel discussions both insightful and energising. The event stood out for its openness—attendees shared practical stories, not just successes, and I took away ideas that have shaped how we’re approaching our work this year. I’m excited to contribute to the conversation again, sharing our automation journey and hearing directly from peers who are passionate about driving change in our industry. These exchanges help us all keep moving labs, and science, toward what the future demands.

I’m enthusiastic about the continued evolution of lab automation and eager to exchange ideas with fellow attendees. If you’re also attending Lab of the Future, or would just like to discuss this topic further, I’d love to connect!