Automation Without Stepping Away from the Science

What should scientists automate, and when is a hands-on approach still best? Naomi Park, Senior Scientist at Altos Labs, draws on more than 20 years of scientific experience to explore which processes should and shouldn’t be automated, approaches to validating sequencing workflows, and why staying engaged when the robots are working can lead to better experiments and more consistent results.

Joe Klavitter, from University of Michigan Advanced Genomics Core, shares how his team went from being unsure about automation to confidently designing and running a full workflow, independently.

In this episode, SPT Labtech’s Melissa Netwal and Jonathan Faherty share their personal experiences navigating the challenges of single-use plastics in the lab. They dive into practical alternatives, like reusing and washing tips, while acknowledging these methods aren’t always a perfect fit. The conversation also explores how non-contact dispensing technologies, such as those found in dragonfly® discovery, can provide a more sustainable and efficient solution. By cutting down on single-use plastics, these innovations not only help reduce waste but also support a wide range of life science applications, from Design of Experiments (DoE) in drug discovery to NGS and PCR setups in genomics.

In this episode of labtech unplugged, we’re joined by Dulan Liyanage from My Green Lab, a non-profit organization aiming to drive a long-term cultural shift towards sustainability in the scientific community, through a portfolio of frameworks and certifications designed to address different aspects of life in lab. In addition to learning more about the organization, we explore the significance of procurement in reducing the environmental footprint of labs and how the ACT label supports teams to make more informed purchasing decisions. Plus, listen to learn how to get involved in sustainability efforts by becoming a My Green Lab ambassador.

In this episode, we're joined by Kerstin Hermuth-Kleinschmidt, an independent sustainability consultant, who shares insights into her career and provides actionable tips that can help you reduce your environmental footprint in the lab. Whether University or industry-based, Kerstin walks through the process that she follows when undertaking projects with labs, to ensure long-term success with measurable impact.

Packaging not only protects new products during shipping and delivery but also communicates essential safety information and brand messaging. However, excessive plastic packaging is a common issue. In this episode, Robin Tan and Leo Chao from Zenpack join us to discuss innovations in eco-friendly packaging. They share how Zenpack is pushing the boundaries of paper and cardboard to balance creative design and sustainability. We also explore the importance of certifications like FSC, the challenges of sustainable packaging in the life sciences industry, and the need for education, policy changes, and advancements in bio-based materials.

At the heart of synthetic biology lies the Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle, a systemic approach to development where researchers build on gained knowledge with each iteration. While this approach is successful in generating lots of data quickly, labs are faced with the challenge of generating an enormous amount of plastics waste through increased consumables usage, a large portion of that coming from pipette tips. So how do labs find a balance, to meet throughput demands in a sustainable way? In this episode, we catch up with the team at seqWell, a Massachusetts-based biotech company who are aiming to deliver scalable and accessible multiplexing NGS library prep solutions. They share insights into why sustainability has become such a challenge in synthetic biology, and how simplicity could hold the key to reducing its carbon footprint. By reducing the number of steps in a workflow, labs can significantly reduce their consumables usage, not only producing less plastics waste but also reducing operational costs.

The life science industry generates over 5.5 billion tonnes of plastic waste every year, with a huge reliance on single-use plastics. It’s clear that reducing this volume will have a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions. Another challenge is the lack of measurement tools to fully understand current impact and forecast the future impact of sustainability efforts. Traditional metrics for often fall short in capturing the full extent of a laboratory's environmental footprint.   In this episode, we’re joined by Katie Marrs, Chief Commercial Officer at Grenova, and Caitlin Harclerode, Sr. Director of Marketing. Grenova has developed transformative technology that reduces laboratory carbon emissions and plastic waste by enabling researchers to wash and reuse plastic consumables.  Grenova has partnered with Rho Impact to develop an impact calculator to quantify the impact their solutions can make for their customer. We’re joined by Rho’s Founder and Chief Advisory Officer, Noah Miller. Rho Impact aims to quantify the impact of new climate technologies, products and investments to support better decision-making on the path to net zero. 

In every life science lab, plastic consumables, like pipette tips and syringes, are essential for daily operations. As throughput demands increase, so does the volume of plastic used every day. These items must also meet rigorous standards to ensure accurate and reliable results, especially in sensitive clinical and biological research. In this episode we sit down with Helen and Paresh from SPT labtech, to discuss everything consumables. From production to packaging and shipping, they share the consideration and innovation that goes into reducing the environmental footprint of lab consumables while maintaining their high standards.

Synthace, known for their expertise in software, supports biologists with their platform that digitizes experiment design and simulation, unifies automation, and harmonizes data, providing a complete digital record that facilitates faster and more streamlined workflows. As part of their organization-wide initiatives, the team has used their experience with software to promote sustainable lab practices by centrally monitoring and managing instrument booking systems and environmental parameters. This centralization not only enhances communication and resource organization for better collaboration, but also raises awareness amongst the team of the environmental impact of their work. Francesco and Fatima discuss the challenges they've faced and the lessons they've learned in implementing a lab-wide sustainability initiative, and how they’ve leveraged their collective knowledge to drive meaningful change.