Building an SDL for medicinal chemistry: technologies, tools & infrastructure
Discover the technological infrastructure behind the Acceleration Consortium’s medicinal chemistry self-driving lab! Join us on Tuesday, September 22nd, for a free, one-day workshop featuring expert talks and a panel discussion on building self-driving labs for drug discovery research, plus tour our medicinal chemistry self-driving lab and learn more about automated lab tools through live demos.
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Registration
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Building a self-driving lab: an incomplete curriculum
There is no established blueprint for transforming today’s automated laboratory into a truly self-driving one. While automation can reliably execute experiments, experimental design, data integration, and the translation of results into the next action remain critical bottlenecks. This session explores the incomplete curriculum required to close that gap and how flexible automation, connected software and scientific expertise can provide the foundation for increasingly autonomous laboratories.
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Beyond the buzz: what laboratory automation has to deliver in the real world
What must be true in a laboratory before a buzzword creates "value"? Explore what today’s laboratory automation technologies can and should deliver beyond the buzzwords in this panel discussion. This panel will examine emerging AI and autonomy, scalable and connected automation architectures, digital laboratories and interoperability, and the business case for automation. Attendees will gain practical perspectives on measuring real-world impact from ROI, productivity, and time to insight into usability, workforce enablement, and future-proofing laboratory operations.
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM Lunch break
A light lunch will be provided
12:30 PM – 12:50 PM
Unlocking the capabilities of an SDL
Acceleration Consortium Staff Scientist Santha Santhakumar will share insights from the development and operation of the AC's medicinal chemistry self-driving lab, offering a practical look at its capabilities, design objectives, and lessons learned. The session will explore the team’s approach to building a self-sustaining SDL and the path forward for expanding its capabilities, setting the stage for the facility tour.
12:50 PM – 3:00 PM
Acceleration Consortium medicinal chemistry lab tours and Tecan demos
Join AC Staff Scientists for a tour of the Acceleration Consortium’s Medicinal Chemistry Self-Driving Lab in MaRS to learn about the instruments and automation technologies that make this workflow possible. Discover how the lab integrates experimental automation with artificial intelligence to accelerate the design, synthesis, and testing of small-molecule protein binders for drug discovery. Space is limited; advanced registration is required.