2023
SLAS ANNUAL REPORT
2 | 2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar
2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar | 3
Record-Breaking Scientifc Conferences
We hosted two major international conferences
with record attendance and record number of
exhibitors to date at SLAS2023 in San Diego
(7,239 attendees, 370 exhibitors) and at SLAS
Europe 2023 in Brussels (1,295 attendees,
121 exhibitors). In addition to the multi-
track scientifc programming, 583 attendees
received hands-on skills building in the pre-
conference Short Course programs in San
Diego. Seventy-one attendees were able to
attend and present their science at the podium
or in the poster hall thanks to the SLAS Travel
Award program.
Another outstanding Innovation Award winner
was named at SLAS2023: Yusuf Roohani,
Ph.D, of Stanford University presented his
work on GEARS: Predicting Transcriptional
Outcomes of Novel Multi-Gene Perturbations,
to earn the honors.
SLAS presented two $50,000 SLAS-NOBCChE
Scholarships to high school students Nathaniel
Gauthier (Philadelphia, PA) and Marygrace
Pelekamoyo (Houston, TX), as part of the
organizations’ joint effort to increase the
diversity of the global science, technology,
engineering
and
mathematics
(STEM)
workforce by supporting young people of color,
who are often underrepresented in the STEM
feld. The students also received registration to
SLAS2023 in San Diego and receive ongoing
mentoring from the scientifc community.
At our two annual conferences, New Product
Awards were awarded to:
•
Blink AG, (Germany) for Blink X, a
technology that places molecular analysis
tools in reach for more users in life sciences,
biotech, environmental testing and more.
•
Byonoy GmbH, (Germany) for its
Absorbance 96 Automate, the frst on-deck,
96-well microplate reader that fts on a
single SBS position.
•
Dynamic Biosensors, (Germany) for the
HeliXCyto, the frst-ever biosensor for
real-time interaction cytometry enabling
scientists to measure association/
dissociation kinetics, half-life, affnity and
avidity directory on cells.
•
Bionomous SA, (Switzerland) for the
Eggsorter, a cost-effective device that
automatically screens, sorts and dispenses
small biological entities.
•
Readily3D, (France) for Tomolite, a
contactless tomographic illumination
technology to shape sensitive cells and
biomaterials into biological systems,
without impairing their viability.
As we refect on 2023,
we are proud to present this
annual report for the Society
for Laboratory Automation
and Screening (SLAS), which
illustrates how SLAS continued
to raise the bar for itself and
its work on behalf of the life
sciences community, grow its
partnerships and alliances
and foster new opportunities
for a community that was already
accustomed to overachieving.
Throughout 2023, SLAS worked
to enhance the connections
among our community and the
impact they can make together.
Our dedicated members and
partners have been at the forefront
of groundbreaking research and
technological advancements,
demonstrating the power of
collaboration and the importance
of continuous improvement.
Vicki Loise, CMP, CAE
SLAS CEO
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF 2023
KEY AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
4 | 2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar
2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar | 5
We branched out to a few new locations for
our 2023 symposia.
The Building Biology in 3D Symposia was held
in Cambridge, UK, along with an SLAS Road
Show for students and early career professionals
to share the career paths that led our illustrious
speakers to the feld and the SLAS community. A
last-minute emergency on the part of the opening
keynote speaker brought Past SLAS President
and symposium co-chair Tim Spicer, Ph.D., to
the stage to share his wealth of knowledge and
experience at UF Scripps Biomedical Research.
Göran Landberg, M.D., Ph.D., (University of
Gothenburg) presented the closing keynote
talk on Decoding Patient Derived Scaffolds for
Cancer Drug Discovery and Precision Medicine.
We debuted the Microscale Innovation in
Life Sciences Symposium in La Jolla, CA, in
September, with SLAS rock star Dino Di Carlo,
Ph.D., (UCLA) presenting the opening keynote,
and Sumita Pennathur, Ph.D., (UCSD) sharing her
experience with the technology behind implantable
medical devices at the closing keynote.
We returned to Washington, D.C. for our
Sample Management Symposium in October.
Illustrating the vast impact of lab automation
technologies, our opening keynote speaker
was Clare Greenfeld, Ph.D., of the Los Angeles
Police Department’s Serology/DNA Unit, who
talked about the past, present and future of
automation in a forensics lab.
Finally, Basel, Switzerland was the site of
the November 2023 Data Sciences and
AI Symposium, graciously hosted by the
University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Northwestern Switzerland School of Life
Sciences (FHNW). Nicola Richmond, Ph.D.,
(Benevolent AI) and Daniel Stekhoven, M.Sc.,
Ph.D., (ETH Zürich) presented compelling
keynote addresses to the crowd.
KEY AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
FOUR GLOBAL SYMPOSIA EXTENDED OUR IMPACT
Partnerships
SLAS formed a partnership
with the Young European
Biotech Network (YEBN), led
by Pau Esteve Monja, which
will enable both organizations
to provide ample opportunities
and resources to learn and
expand the European scientifc
community.
We partnered with the Society
for Biomolecular Imaging and
Informatics (SBI2) to curate a
special collection of articles in
SLAS Discovery that highlights
the signifcant impact of high-
content imaging in basic and
translational research.
Ongoing partnerships and
networking events with
ELRIG (UK), the Spanish Drug
Discovery Network (Spain)
and eSCAMPS (Cambridge,
UK) enabled SLAS to continue
bringing superior quality
educational content and
networking opportunities to
varied life sciences communities
across Western Europe.
Ignite Awards in 2023 went to:
•
Okomera (Paris) developer of pioneering
droplet microfuidics for parallel screening
of patient-derived spheroids to enable
precision cancer treatment.
•
Bionomous for its EggSorter – a two-time
award winner at SLAS Europe 2023! Listen
to this New Matter podcast to learn more.
Samuel Berryman, Ph.D. candidate in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of British Columbia (Vancouver,
BA, Canada), was awarded the SLAS 2023
Graduate Education Fellowship Grant —
$100,000 will support his work developing and
designing technologies for studying Chimeric
antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, a cell type used
for a novel form of cancer therapy.
6 | 2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar
2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar | 7
Community and Collaboration
At the heart of SLAS is a vibrant and engaged
community. In 2023, our membership surged
and we deepened our engagement through
various networking opportunities, collaborative
projects and member-driven initiatives.
While our membership stayed strong through
2020-2022, we saw an unprecedented surge
to 2500+ paid members, surpassing our
membership goal in 2023 by 157%, with
growth in Europe, Asia and the United States.
With the numbers illustrating a strong need for
the community post-pandemic, this sense of
belonging and shared purpose strengthens
the collective impact of our work.
SLAS Technology and SLAS Discovery
Two years into open access publishing,
SLAS Discovery and SLAS Technology are
going strong with more special issues, more
new topics and added opportunities for
sponsorship and visibility. SLAS published
its frst special issue containing protocols
in March 2023. Protocols are step-by-step
methods papers intended to improve research
standards and reproducibility, while expanding
the availability of “shorter-read” content. SLAS
aims to weave journal activities and content
into its annual conferences and journal editors
regularly seek new authors from the plethora
of excellent poster and podium presentations.
Jenny
Cunningham
joined
the
SLAS
Professional Team as the journals’ publishing
manager in July 2023 and works closely with
the editorial boards and Elsevier to ensure our
journals stay at the top of their game.
On the topic of accessibility, 28 New Matter
podcasts were recorded in 2023 ranging from
a popular series on accessibility in the lab,
interviews with award winners, lab of the future
considerations, bioprinting and the importance
of collaborations. Check them all out on
Buzzsprout or your favorite podcast platform.
Scientifc Chops in the New Year
With every successful
organization
comes
change. SLAS added
new Science Director,
Lesley Mathews, Ph.D.
to the team in January
2023. Lesley served as
the associate director,
cellular pharmacology for the Center for the
Development of Therapeutics at the Broad
Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and Harvard (Cambridge, MA)
where she was responsible for leading
teams in both the Cellular Pharmacology
and Translational Pharmacology groups,
overseeing the advancement of projects from
early-stage development to full-fedged drug
discovery research projects.
2023’S MOST IMPORTANT ASSET – YOU!
INCREASING OUR SCIENTIFIC REACH
253 EARLY CAREER MEMBERS
138 STUDENT MEMBERS
TOTAL
2536
2145 PREMIER MEMBERS
8 | 2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar
2023 SLAS ANNUAL REPORT: Raising the Bar | 9
The SLAS Board of Directors provided
optimistic
and
well-reasoned
support,
guidance and advice on myriad matters in
2023 as companies, universities and nearly
all organizations established new remote and
hybrid working models, automation providers
started to right size and adjust to a less-
frenzied market and global supply chains
chugged toward recovery.
Each year, three members of the SLAS Board
of Directors complete their three-year terms of
service, and in 2023, the following completed
their often-virtual board activities.
Joining the SLAS Board of Directors in 2023
for three-year terms were:
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STEERED A FAST-MOVING SHIP
As a 501(c)3 nonproft scientifc organization,
SLAS provides world-class education and
collaboration opportunities to its stakeholders
– its members who pay dues and those who
participate and contribute their expertise and
enthusiasm to the Society. On their behalf,
SLAS carefully manages its resources to
ensure organizational stability, operational
excellence and sound investments in growth
and development.
SLAS FINANCIAL REPORT
It’s Time to Soar!
SLAS is here because of you
and for you. We are doubling
down on building our global
community, bringing laboratory
innovation to more sectors and
helping the next generation of
laboratory-based scientists fnd
their superpowers!
There are countless opportunities
to volunteer, build your network,
give back or learn from the SLAS
community. Take what you need,
share what you have and bring
others along for the ride!
Manuela Beil-Peter
Analytik Jena AG, Germany
Mariafrancesca Scalise, Ph.D.
University of Calabria, Italy
Jan Lichtenberg, Ph.D.
InSphero AG, Switzerland
Zachary Gurard-Levine, Ph.D.
Charles River Laboratories, USA
Jonathan O’Connell, Ph.D.
Dewpoint Therapeutics
Boston, MA, USA
Philip Gribbon, Ph.D.
Fraunhofer ITMP, Germany
Fiscal Year 2023 Audited Financials
Revenue
Expense
Conferences & Exhibitions
$7,177,759
$4,808,645
Education (Short courses, webinars and symposia)
$602,943
$576,153
Scientifc Publishing
$112,028
$92,566
Membership
$291,794
$157,521
Other
$216,868
$74,947
Strategic Development
Awards and Grants
$14,965
$281,147
General and Administrative
$79,825
$3,492,502
Totals
$8,496,183
$9,483,478
Revenue
Cash in bank
$711,286
Money Market and Short Term CDs
$3,060,699
Funds
Operating
$615,698
Reserve
$6,738,229
Education
$1,075,068
Endowment
$404,164
Total
$8,833,159
Totals
$8,496,183
SLAS GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS
1301 West 22nd Street, Suite 708
Oak Brook, IL 60523 USA
+1.630.256.7527
slas@slas.org
SLAS.org