Biography
Dr. Tara Crawford Parks currently leads the product development team as a Senior R&D manager at DNA Genotek. She leads multiple projects to support the development, verification and validation activities linked to DNA Genotek's molecular product portfolio which is focused on providing sample collection solutions to the human genomics, microbiome, liquid biopsy and infectious disease fields. Tara obtained her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa and has expertise in cellular and molecular biology with a focus on translational medicine and human health, specifically in the areas of neuromuscular disease and cancer biology.

Talk
Starting with the End in Sight: Multiomic Research Workflow
Multiomic approaches have been rising in popularity. Combining datasets across research areas within human genomics, transcriptomics, and the microbiome has the potential to accelerate discovery. Learn about the advantages of total nucleic acid collection to a multiomic workflow, and how overcoming limitations posed by traditional methods can futureproof your research.

Spatial Showcase:
DNA Genotek
DNA Genotek®, Novosanis®, and Diversigen® are subsidiaries of OraSure Technologies, and provide self-collection and stabilization kits for multiple biological sample types, and sequencing and informatics services for the microbiome. Our kits and services expand access, pioneer solutions that set new benchmarks in outcomes and affordability.

Biography
Dr. Nicholas Reder is a board certified and award winning pathologist and the CEO and founder of Alpenglow Biosciences, Inc., a 3D spatial biology company. He received a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Michigan, an M.P.H. in epidemiology from Emory University, and an M.D. from Loyola University Chicago before receiving his pathology training at University of Washington, where he completed an anatomic pathology residency followed by a genitourinary pathology fellowship. While in residency, Dr. Reder won the Castleman Award, the highest honor for a pathologist under the age of 40. After spinning out the core technology from University of Washington, Alpenglow created a complete end to end solution to accelerate drug development including the 3D imager, 3D image processing, and 3D analysis to accelerate drug development and enhance clinical diagnostics.

Talk
3D Spatial Biology
3D spatial biology accelerates drug development and improves clinical diagnostics. This talk will provide an introduction to the technology underpinning 3D spatial biology and describe applications in drug development and clinical research where 3D data provides significant advantages over slidebased 2D data.

NCI Showcase:
Alpenglow Biosciences
Alpenglow Biosciences uses AI-powered 3D spatial biology to add a new dimension to pathology, accelerating drug development and enhance clinical diagnostics.

Biography
Aruna Ayer is the Senior Director of RD for Single Cell Multiomics Advanced Technologies at BD Biosciences since 2021. She leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for delivering an exciting portfolio of next generation single cell sorting and partitioning instruments, multiomic assays and bioinformatics solutions. Aruna holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Texas, Austin and bachelors in biotechnology from Anna University, India. Aruna joined BD Biosciences from Roche Sequencing Solutions, where she held various roles of increasing leadership responsibility for 7 years. Prior to Roche, Aruna held roles at Theranos, Stanford University, and Oregon Health and Science University. Aruna is a named inventor on multiple patents and has published in multiple high impact scientific journals. She is passionate about scientific innovation, technology and product development and an ardent advocate for diversity and inclusion. Most recently, Aruna was awarded with the Women changing Science award from the Rosalind Franklin Society.

Talk
High-Dimensional Biology with High-Throughput Single-Cell Multiomics
The talk will showcase how BD Rhapsody HTXpress System fits within a reliable end-to-end single-cell multiomic solution with comprehensive assays to profile DNA chromatin accessibility, targeted whole transcriptome, the immune repertoire, and the surface and intracellular protein epitopes. The data will highlight the depth of molecular information and cellular discovery enabled by single-cell multiomics.

Spatial Showcase:
BD Biosciences
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health™ by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. BD Biosciences business unit is a leading provider of single cell biology solutions.

Biography
With a strong background in advanced technology development John has spent over 30 years developing products for PCR based applications, and several technologies for studying the human genome, and most recently the development of a platform that advances disease research and clinical testing. For the last 10 years John has devoted his life to the development of a platform that delivers a set of capabilities to the cancer clinical testing market through the integration of digital pathology and NGS analysis. John teamed up with Quantumcytes CTO, Bidhan Chaudhuri, along with their network of scientists, engineers, computational biologists, business development professionals, as well as investors and scientific advisors to develop QCPRECISE, a product that brings spatial biology to the clinic to diagnose cancer a very unique way.

Talk
Digital Pathology Guided Spatial Microdissection
This talk will introduce Quantumcytes QCPRECISE technology that integrates digital pathology with molecular analysis for use in molecular pathology workflows. The system is capable of microdissection from ROIs down to 50 microns and is scalable for use in a clinical setting (100s of slidesshift). Clinical data will be presented.

Spatial Showcase:
Quantumcyte
Quantumcyte is an early stage technology company that develops products and workflows for the solid tissue clinical testing markets. The company is located in Sunyvale, CA.

Biography
Misagh serves as a liaison between domain experts in pathology, artificial intelligence, and biopharma at Reveal Biosciences, a frontier in digital pathology. Misaghs scientific expertise spans across computational biology, cancer research, and chemical engineering with publications in protein modeling, in-silico drug design, and oncolytic virology. His work at Reveal Biosciences aims to help biotech and pharma companies in their preclinical and clinical research to modernize drug development and patient treatments. Before joining Reveal Biosciences, Misagh served as a scientific advisor at two prominent international law firms, focusing on intellectual property and innovations at the intersection of biology, engineering, and artificial intelligence. He has a passion for the business of science, science communication, and translating innovations in AI and digital health into solutions that tangibly improve human health and well-being.

Talk
Precision Pathology: AI-Driven Spatial Analysis of Tumor Microenvironment
Multiplex immunofluorescence (MIF) in precision histopathology is transforming spatial biology and cancer research. Reveal Biosciences offers AI-driven digital assays, paired with cutting-edge multiplex immunofluorescent lab services to explore spatial interactions in the tumor microenvironment. The result is an interactive visualization environment to explore highly reproducible quantifiable readouts and actionable spatial metrics.

Spatial Showcase:
Reveal Biosciences
Reveal Biosciences pioneers AI-powered pathology and spatial biology, delivering cutting-edge tissue insights to empower biopharmaceutical research and global healthcare.