SLAS San Diego 2025 has come to a close, marking another milestone in lab automation and scientific innovation. Over three packed days, the event gathered more than 7,000 attendees, bringing together researchers, industry leaders, and technology providers under the bright Californian sun. The atmosphere was electric, filled with groundbreaking discussions, cutting-edge product demonstrations, and invaluable networking opportunities.
This year’s conference saw a notable shift, with 50% of registrants coming from non-exhibiting companies, a testament to the growing interest in the latest lab automation solutions. With participants from 43 countries, SLAS reaffirmed its status as a truly international platform for scientific and technological exchange.
From dynamic keynote sessions to hands-on workshops and live demonstrations, SLAS 2025 highlighted the newest innovations driving the future of laboratory research. The event offered a unique platform to discuss cutting-edge technologies, including automation, microfluidics, high-throughput screening, and AI-driven workflows.
Join Elveflow in this report as we dive into the key moments, innovations, and trends that defined SLAS 2025!
Heard about regLM, PicoShells, and TriDrop but not sure what they are? These cutting-edge technologies are transforming synthetic biology, biosensor development, and cell engineering. From AI-driven DNA design to high-throughput microfluidic screening and advanced electroporation techniques, here’s a quick overview of what we learned at SLAS 2025!
AI-Guided Design of Nucleic Acids for Therapeutic Applications, Avantika Lal, PhD; Principal Scientist, Genentech
Dr. Avantika Lal, PhD, presented how AI-driven design is transforming DNA and RNA engineering for gene therapy, mRNA vaccines, and genome editing. Traditional methods struggle with high costs, incomplete system-wide insights, and scalability issues, but AI is changing that by enabling precise control over DNA regulatory elements like promoters, enhancers, and silencers.
Dr. Lal showcased a machine-learning approach where an initial sequence undergoes systematic mutation, prediction of protein activity, and iterative selection to achieve an optimized final sequence. This method enhances stability, translation efficiency, and targeted cellular activity, crucial for next-generation therapies.
A major limitation in current models is the failure to account for cell-type specificity in disease states, an essential factor for personalized medicine. To address this, Dr. Lal introduced regLM, an AI framework that integrates large language models and multi-omic foundation models to generate synthetic DNA that mirrors natural genomic properties while enhancing function.
With AI at the forefront, nucleic acid design is shifting from trial-and-error to a precise, data-driven process, accelerating breakthroughs in synthetic biology and therapeutic development.
Exploring the Functional Diversity of Protein Biosensors Using a High-Throughput Microparticle-Based Screening Platform, Rajesh Ghosh, PhD; Postdoc, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Rajesh Ghosh, PhD (Postdoc, UCLA) presented an innovative approach to tackling one of the biggest challenges in protein biosensor development: the sheer complexity of protein screening. Protein biosensors, essential for applications in drug discovery, diagnostics, and pathology research, require precise engineering to function effectively. Yet, the search for optimal variants is constrained by the immense sequence diversity—for a 1,000 amino acid protein, there are 20¹⁰⁰⁰ possible sequences, making traditional screening methods impractical. Current techniques, such as bacterial colony screening, are time-consuming, operator-dependent, and prone to false positives due to phenotypic variability. While microfluidic droplets have improved scalability, they are limited in downstream analysis, suffer from droplet coalescence, and lack effective solution exchange (Discover our latest Application Note on Droplet coalescence!).
To overcome these hurdles, Dr. Ghosh introduced PicoShells, a picoliter-scale porous hydrogel compartment that allows for single-cell encapsulation while enabling environmental exchange. This breakthrough technology makes it possible to grow millions of isolated monoclonal cultures in a fraction of the volume and time required for traditional methods.
Using PicoShells combined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), Dr. Ghosh and his team screened over one million biosensor variants of the calcium sensor GCaMP. By systematically mutating linker regions, they generated a diverse library, which underwent a three-stage FACS screening for brightness, dynamic response, and sensor reversibility. The result: biosensors with a ten-fold improvement in dynamic response over the original variant.
This scalable, high-throughput screening approach represents a significant leap forward in biosensor engineering, bridging experimental discovery with AI-driven protein design.
Dr. Rajesh Ghosh is a Post-Doctoral Fellow from Prof Dicarlo, see his work in our previous conference report here
We had the pleasure of speaking with Rahul Roy, a loyal client who was happy to share his experience with Elveflow Instruments:
“We’ve been using microfluidic pumps to test our 3D-printed microfluidic devices, and we were using a basic syringe pump setup, which was causing a lot of bubbles in our 3D-printed parts. So, we contacted Elveflow so we could get a robust solution for addressing the issues we had been seeing, and Elveflow has been incredibly helpful in getting us set up—all the way from quoting and purchasing to the installation of the unit. We are very happy with the system and looking forward to buying more!”
Patient-derived Organoids-on-a-Chip Model to Dissect Heterogenous Tumor Microenvironment and Test immunotherapy, Lunan Liu, New York University
Lunan Liu (New York University) introduced an organoids-on-a-chip model designed to mimic the tumor microenvironment (TME) of pancreatic cancer. By combining patient-derived organoids (PDOs) with microfluidic technology, the model recreates key tumor characteristics, including heterogenous immune niche, fibrosis, and hypovascularization. Unlike traditional 3D cultures, this approach integrates essential TME components such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and regulatory T cells (Tregs), providing a more accurate representation of tumor-immune interactions.
The model successfully captured patient-to-patient variability, highlighting differences in immune response, extracellular matrix composition, and hypoxia levels. This level of detail allowed researchers to test CAR-T therapy in real-time, tracking immune cell migration, infiltration, and activation. While anti-mesothelin (MSLN) CAR-T cells showed enhanced immune response, complete tumor clearance remained a challenge, reflecting similar limitations seen in clinical treatments.
Future work aims to develop patient-specific chips to better understand how tumor niche factors and antigen expression impact CAR-T therapy outcomes. Additionally, the platform could be used for CAR-T product screening and efficacy testing, bringing personalized immunotherapy closer to reality.
Liu’s work is supported by the International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER) Graduate Fellowship (2024-2025), recognizing his commitment to advancing ethical, non-animal research models in biomedical science.
Discover more about Lunan on this youtube video from National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)
High-Throughput Microfluidic Arrayed Methods for Engineering Cellular Therapies, Zhiyang Deng, PhD, Concordia University
Zhiyang Deng, PhD (Concordia University) presented a high-throughput microfluidic platform designed to improve cell engineering for adoptive immunotherapy, particularly for CAR-T therapies. By introducing genetic modifications into immune cells before reinfusion, adoptive immunotherapy has shown promise against hematological and solid tumors, infections, and autoimmune diseases. However, immune suppression within tumors remains a major challenge, requiring continuous improvements in cell potency and persistence.
Deng’s team developed a tri-drop electroporation system, a technique that merges three droplets into a continuous chain. In this setup, the outer droplets contain a high-conductivity liquid, while the middle droplet holds cells and biological payloads in a low-conductivity solution. Applying voltage to the outer droplets generates an electric field across the entire structure, allowing efficient DNA, RNA, or protein insertion without compromising cell viability.
This high-throughput format enables thousands of electroporation reactions in parallel, making it possible to test large genetic perturbation libraries and identify more effective checkpoint modifications for immune cell therapies. The system demonstrated successful knock-in and knock-out experiments, including disruption of kinases like p38, which enhances CAR-T cell function.
Notably, Deng’s platform works with low cell numbers, making it a cost-efficient alternative to existing methods like the Neon system, while maintaining comparable transfection efficiency. By offering scalability, precision, and efficiency, this approach paves the way for the next generation of cell-based immunotherapies with enhanced potency and long-term effectiveness.
At SLAS 2025, visitors got an exclusive look at Elveflow’s Advanced Range, a new generation of lab automation solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of universities, research institutes, and small-scale industries. Whether you’re developing next-generation microfluidic devices, biomaterial research, or automated screening systems, this range delivers cutting-edge automation, seamless software integration, and scalable prototyping solutions.From custom design to prototyping and final implementation, we provide a streamlined workflow that connects sales, R&D, and technical support, ensuring your project runs smoothly from concept to reality. The Advanced Range simplifies setup, optimizes workflows, and reduces time-to-market, making it a cost-effective solution for labs pushing the boundaries of microfluidics and material science.
If you missed us at SLAS, reach out to learn how Elveflow can support your next breakthrough in lab automation! 🚀
At Elveflow, we believe in fostering both scientific excellence and community spirit. That’s why we’re proud to highlight key initiatives that bring people together—whether it’s through cutting-edge research or simply enjoying the great outdoors.
🏃♂️ FUNd Run – More than just a race, this event brought together attendees to run, connect, and embrace the joy of movement. Promoting outdoor activity and well-being, the FUNd Run was a perfect way to kick off the conference with energy and enthusiasm.
🏆 Young Researchers Award – Recognizing the next generation of scientific talent, this year’s winners stood out for their outstanding poster presentations:
💡 Innovation Award – Honoring groundbreaking research, this year’s award went to Jongwong Lim, Ph.D. (University of Illinois) for his work on “Rapid and Ultra-sensitive Identification of Pathogenic DNA in Blood using a Novel Blood Drying Technique.” His research pushes the boundaries of diagnostics and healthcare technology, showcasing the power of microfluidics in real-world applications.
Beyond the exciting presentations and cutting-edge research, we were delighted to connect with our partners at SLAS 2025. It was a pleasure catching up with ChipShop, AMF Advanced Microfluidics, ELEXAN Scientific, and Darwin Microfluidics, exchanging insights on the latest advancements in microfluidics and discussing future collaborations. Events like these reinforce the importance of partnerships in driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of lab automation and biotechnology.
A big thank you to everyone we met at SLAS 2025—it was a pleasure exchanging insights and exploring the latest innovations together! Stay tuned for our next conference report, and if you don’t want to miss an Elveflow update, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. See you next time! 🚀
Written and reviewed by Louise Fournier, PhD in Chemistry and Biology Interface. For more content about Microfluidics, you can have a look here.
Ghosh, R., & Di Carlo, D. (2022). High-Throughput Screening of Protein Biosensors Using a Microparticle-Based Platform. PLoS One. PMC8794849
NAVS International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER). (2024). IFER Graduate Fellowship Recipient Lunan Liu [YouTube Video]. National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS). Watch here
Deng, Z., & Concordia University Team. (2023). High-Throughput Microfluidic Electroporation for Engineering Cellular Therapies. Advanced Materials Technologies, Wiley Online Library. DOI: 10.1002/admt.202300719
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