Abstract
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1999
MATLAB FOR LABORATORY AUTOMATION
Instructor: Mr Rick Stanton
Amgen Thousand Oaks, CA
Instructor: Dr. Brian Rasnow
Amgen Thousand Oaks, CA
Rick Stanton received a B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. from California State University, Northridge in 1985 and 1991 respectively. In 1985 he joined AlliedSignal Ocean Systems where he designed and analyzed analog and digital circuits for sonar signal processing. In 1988 he transferred to the information/signal processing group at AlliedSignal Ocean Systems where he developed signal processing algorithms for sonar and acoustic imaging systems. In 1993 he joined Hughes Aircraft, Santa Barbara Research Center where he developed test systems for high data rate, earth observing spacecraft instruments. In 1994 he joined Amgen and is responsible for specification, design, and implementation of high throughput therapeutic drug discovery systems.
Brian Rasnow received a Ph.D. in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1994 with a thesis exploring how some fish generate and sense feeble electric fields and neurocomputational algorithms to process electrosensory information. His research often involved developing new instrumentation and apparatus for data acquisition, signal processing, robotics, video, and visualization. He has performed numerous studies in neurobiology and ethology in both the lab and field. He joined Amgen in 1997 and is responsible for specification, design, and implementation of high throughput therapeutic drug discovery systems.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
As lab automation matures, tasks are becoming more complex than just moving robotics between points and throwing relays. Integrating apparatus control, data and image acquisition, and data analysis promises to increase the utility of lab automation. Complex data processing can stretch the capabilities of commonly used lab automation software, and conversely, data analysis software packages are not generally suitable for controlling apparatus. MATLAB, a widely used commercial mathematics and data visualization environment is an viable solution for lab automation. We will show through examples and exercises how to use MATLAB for robot and instrument control, communication, data acquisition, and data analysis.
Specific topics will include:
The MATLAB environment: syntax, semantics, and structure
Data analysis using signal processing, image processing, neural networks, toolboxes, controlling hardware (serial ports, analog and digital i/o boards, ORCA robot) through C-functions and interprocess communication
AUTOMATED IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS
Instructor: Mr. Matt Allen
Microscan Systems, Inc. Renton, WA
Matt Allen eared his B.S. Degree in Business from the University of Idaho in 1988 with dual majors in production management and finance. Mr. Allen has nine years experience with Microscan, a leading manufacturer of fixed mount bar code scanners. Five years as the production controller and four as a product manager. Core responsibilities include defining market requirements and managing product development through the development phases.
Certifications: CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) Committees: AIM Standards committee for SC31 Tag-Data carrier category; NCCLS subcommittee on specimen identification.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will address the information needed for the design of an automated identification system. Examples from automated clinical environments will be used throughout this course. The first section of the course discusses the information requirements for an automated system, Specific examples will include patient, tray and reagent identifiers. After the pertinent information is selected, choosing the best symbology (out of over 3000) to encode that information will be discussed. Linear, stacked and 2D codes will be covered along with their advantages and disadvantages. The various types of label media will also be covered.
The second section details the hardware that is available for printing, reading and decoding the various symbologies. Printers, wands, CCD's, laser and vision systems will be discussed.
The third section discusses integration of the scanner into the automated system. Scanner placement in the system depends on the type of scanner used, depth of field and the symbology size.
The final section will be a hands on exercise that will provide some exposure to the features offered in a fixed mount scanner.
CLINICAL LABORATORY AUTOMATION: A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF RECENT TECHNOLOGIES
Instructor: Dr. Robin A. Felder
University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA
Robin Felder, Ph.D. received his B.S. in Chemistry at the College of William and Mary in 1977. In 1983 he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Georgetown University. In 1983–84 he completed a post-doctoral fellowship under John Kebabian and the National Institutes of Health in which he examined the hormonal regulation of the biosynthesis of proopiomelanocortin. In 1984 he was appointed to the medical faculty at The University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Felder is currently Professor of Pathology, and Associate Director of Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology, and Director of the Medical Automation Research Center. He is Chairman of the International Conference, LabAutomation which is now in its 3rd year and annually attracts over 2,000 registrants and over 100 exhibitors of laboratory automation products. Dr. Felder has served as Chairman of the Oak Ridge Conference, he is on the editorial board of Clinical and Experimental Hypertension, Laboratory Robotics and Automation, Laboratory Information Management, and Advance News. Dr. Felder founded the Association for Laboratory Automation and currently is President and editor of its journal, The Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation (JALA). He has published over 74 basic and clinical research articles, 30 robotics research articles, and over 15 chapters and reviews and has received the awards such as the Fogarty International Fellowship, the Young Clinical Investigator Award from the Association for Clinical Scientists, and the Young Investigator Award from both the American Federation for Clinical Reserach and the American Physiological Society.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Robotics and automation technology can improve the efficiency of health care delivery. However, laboratory directors must set reasonable automation goals for their laboratories. Based on a high return on investment, there are two basic choices for automating the laboratory, central receiving and point-of-care. This workshop will focus on discussion of the issues involved with considering, planning, implementing, and justifying laboratory automation.
CENTRAL RECEIVING AUTOMATION
Central receiving is presumably the most likely area of the laboratory to automate since labor costs are highest for sample processing. Recent technology has become available for specimen labeling, sorting, centrifuging, aliquotting, and transportation. In order for automation to be cost effective we must understand the benefits and limitations of pre-analytical processors. Recent progress will assist with their success such as new developing defacto standards for sample conveyance, laboratory information/automation system (LIS/LAS) software, interfaces which provide the necessary control data, and high reliability which should allow unattended operation. Limitations of sample tube variety and the ability of automation to handle exception specimens may compromise the cost savings of pre-analytical automation.
Three approaches to laboratory automation include 1. the use of modular devices (e.g. Autolab Autoquot, BDC universal tube labeler, and LabInterlink conveyor system), 2. the use of a modular conveyor system (e.g. the LAS from Coulter/IDS), 3. the use of a full turnkey system (e.g. the CLAS from Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi). The benefits of each of these systems will be discussed.
POINT-OF-CARE AUTOMATION
Point-of-care testing has traditionally been reserved for analytes which are necessary for rapid assessment of critically ill patients. Only limited menus of tests have been offered at point-of-care due to high costs and the lack of tests available on whole blood specimens. The ideal point-of-care system would utilize commercially available instruments, offer blood gases, electrolytes, chemistry, coagulation and hematology tests, provide rapid turnaround on whole blood specimens, be operated by nurses and ward clerks yet maintain control in the hands of laboratory professionals. We have developed the Remote Automated Laboratory System which provides these features at a cost less than that of performing the same test in the central laboratory. Our clinical outcomes studies have demonstrated that automation of point-of-care analysis reduces the time patients spend on mechanical ventilation.
SUMMARY
The need for central Laboratory Automation Systems will increase in the near future as laboratories consolidate into regional laboratories. Point-of-care automation will remain an expanding necessity during this consolidation process. Eventually, 80% of laboratory testing will be performed at point-of-care with the remainder split between small on-site automated laboratories and a few large commercial laboratories. Therefore, laboratories should develop both central laboratory as well as point-of-care automation in order to be completive in the upcoming medical marketplace.
AN INTRODUCTION TO LABORATORY AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS
Instructor:
Dr. Steven D. Hamilton
Amgen, Inc. Boulder, CO
Instructor:
Dr. Gary W. Kramer
National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD
Instructor:
Dr. Mark F. Russo
Bristol Myers Squibb Princeton, NJ
Dr. Steven Hamilton received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Southeast Missouri State University in 1978, and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University in 1983. He served as the Team Leader of Fermentation Automation Development at Eli Lilly from 1983–1992, creating that companies first successful laboratory automation effort. Steve then joined Scitec Inc. as R&D Manager to lead the startup of the U.S. office. In 1994 he joined Amgen Inc. in Thousand Oaks, CA to create a laboratory automation effort, largely focused on the Human Genome effort. The following year he was appointed Director of Automation and Information Services at the Amgen Boulder, CO site, where he and his staff provided technology support in the creation the companies' first small molecule program. Steve is currently Vice President of Technology with Source Biopharmaceuticals Inc., in Boulder CO.
Steve was honored with the 1986 Pioneer In Laboratory Robotics Award and the 1992 Scitec/TNO award. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Laboratory Robotics and Automation and the Journal of the Association of Laboratory Automation. Together with his colleagues he has annually taught short courses on laboratory automation since 1993.
Gary W. Kramer received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in organic chemistry working with Professor H. C. Brown on the synthesis and reactions of allylic organoboranes. After serving as the head post-doc in the Brown organization, he joined Purdue's Chemistry Instrumentation Facility, where he designed analytical instruments and instrument interfaces and consulted on measurement problems. From 1984 until 1990, he was co-director of a project to automate the way organic synthesis development is carried out in the laboratory. In 1990, he joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology and was Project Manager of the Consortium on Automated Analytical Laboratory Systems (CAALS-a U.S. industry/Government joint venture to foster the development of laboratory automation for analytical chemistry) from 1991 until 1996. In 1995, he was named Group Leader for the Chemical Sensing and Automation Technology Group in NIST's Analytical Chemistry Division.
Mark Russo received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 1989 from Rutgers University. For eight years he has worked in Laboratory Automation, Laboratory Robotics and Laboratory Informatics in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries. His accomplishments include the development of several laboratory computer applications for instrument control and laboratory data management in addition to custom laboratory robot systems for a number of automation applications including high-throughput screening. He has published on many laboratory automation-related topics, including a book titled Automating Science and Engineering Laboratories with Visual Basic, which will be published by John Wiley and Sons in March, 1999. He is a member of the Scientific Committee for the LabAutomation conference. He is also a member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation and Laboratory Robotics and Automation. Dr. Russo is currently with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the Combinatorial Drug Discovery Group where he leads the Laboratory Automation Informatics effort.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Today's increasingly competitive business environment continues to emphasize on the use of automation technology to improve laboratory productivity, to accelerate discovery, and to maintain quality. With the proper planning and implementation, robotics can be a highly flexible tool for laboratory automation.
This is an introductory course, aimed at those considering automating their laboratory operations and those managing increasingly automated laboratories. The topics covered will be:
Reasons for employing laboratory automation.
An overview of current laboratory automation and robotics technology and usage, from workstations to fully integrated systems.
Planning, implementing and maintaining successful automation applications.
Automation specific issues involving documentation, validation, open systems and standards.
A review of specific automation-related technologies, such as automatic
ID, sensors, vision systems, and software for system control and scheduling.
Understanding the relationship of automation and informatics, and the various options, tools and strategies that may be employed to manage automation-generated data.
A preview of emerging technologies that may have an impact on laboratory automation.
SCIENTIFIC DATABASE DESIGN
Instructor:
Dr. Stephen R. Heller
Pool, Heller & Milne, MD
Since 1984 Dr. Heller holds the position as a Research Scientist in the US Agricultural Research Service's Beltsville, MD laboratory. He is presently a guest researcher at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD doing work on spectral, physical chemical property, and numeric databases and electronic publishing. He was the Informatics Project Leader for the Plant Genome Research Program from 1990–1997, responsible for overseeing a computer-based database project of about $1.3 million. He developed and coordinated a number of ARS Agency-wide scientific databases, modeling systems, and expert system programs, including the development of a pesticide properties database and three expert systems for evaluating analytical chemistry data. He previously developed the concept and design for the NIH/EPA Mass Spectral Database. He has directed the implementation of the design which resulted in a successful database which was given to the Department of Commerce (NIST) for lease to the scientific community. This commercially successful database currently produces an annual revenue to the US Government in excess of $1 million per year.
Dr. Heller is internationally well-known authority in information technology in the areas of scientific numeric and factual databases and chemical information. Past Chairman of the IUPAC Committee on Chemical Databases. He is a consultant to chemical, chemical information, database, and publishing companies. He was the Editor of the Trends in Analytical Chemistry Internet column, 1995–1997, the Editor, ACS Book Series on Computers in Chemistry, 1992–1997, and is the Software review editor for the ACS JCICS journal. He is founding member of the editorial board for the all electronic Internet Journal of Chemistry. Over the past 30 years he has published over 150 papers in leading scientific journals and related publications. Lastly, he conceived of and developed the SciWords ® series of scientific and technical spell checkers, 1992–1995.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This one day course is intended for scientists interested in learning about how one goes about developing, creating, and using a scientific database. The course will be aimed at understanding the factors that go into the creation and maintenance of a database. The course will not teach programming, but rather how to use such widely available and inexpensive database software such as Microsoft Access to support the a database project.
ELECTRONIC LAB NOTEBOOKS, SCIENTIFIC GROUPWARE, DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND COLLABORATIVE COMPUTING SYSTEMS
Instructor:
Dr. Rich Lysakowski
TeamScience, Inc. Woburn, MA
Instructor:
Dr. James T. Currie, Jr.
TeamScience, Inc. Woburn, MA
Dr. Rich Lysakowski, Ph.D. has more than 18 years experience in analytical and physical chemistry and lab automation engineering using LIMS, groupware document, electronic document management and records management systems. He is the Executive Director of the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association, which is a nonprofit industry and professional association, and co-leader of the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Consortium. He also works for TeamScience, Inc. which specializes in research, software engineering, training, and industry reporting on R&D and lab automation systems and methodologies.
James T. Currie Jr., Ph.D. is a lab automation expert, LIMS trainer and project engineer. Using his expertise as an analytical chemist and lab automation engineer, he actively develops lab software, instrument and LIMS interfacing specifications and standards, project methodologies, and does LIMS and lab automation consulting for TeamScience, Inc. He has spent the past 18 years teaching, working in industry, and assisting corporations and government agencies with strategic and tactical lab automation projects.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Organizations are struggling to find competitive advantages to increase sales, stay profitable, and make the most effective use of their employees and other limited resources. Technology and re-engineering can provide some solutions. Scientists are taking the next steps in lab automation and scientific computing: collaborative electronic notebook systems (CENS), groupware, workflow, document management and other types of collaborative computing systems. Some of these systems are being built using Web-based technologies, which make them easier to use and more collaborative, and make them work for larger deployments.
However, requirements are not always clear and people are often bewildered by the broad array of commercial offerings. Understanding and evaluating them is very expensive in human effort.
This course is a practical introduction to the legal, regulatory, technical, and social aspects of how to evaluate these technologies and make fit together into systems that work for your company. It reviews vocabularies and a full range of concepts needed to understand them. We cover electronic recordkeeping system requirements for meeting federal agency and patent office rules, including recently released regulations for software systems.
Technology still present significant barriers when implementing electronic notebook systems, though you can use a few commercial products now to build, pilot, and deploy systems. Vendors may tell you their products meet regulatory and legal recordkeeping requirements, however you, not vendors, will be subject to regulatory penalties and loss of patents if your system fails to meet requirements. When selecting systems, you must know how to evaluate systems that meet the needs of all user roles. When implementing these complex systems, you must also pay close attention to your company's cultural and social factors, and operational aspects. Poor project planning for these systems will almost lead to almost certain failure. On the other hand, careful project planning and management will help you drive a successful implementation, promote strong user acceptance and usage, and give you the huge return on investment achieved by others. We will discuss capabilities and optimum applications areas of some leading products, and give you case studies for how people are applying systems in R&D and manufacturing labs today. Time permitting, we will also show some technology demonstrations. Overall, you will receive much helpful knowledge to demystify these new automation technologies and strategies to apply them.
MICRO TOTAL ANALYSIS SYSTEMS
Instructor:
Dr. Sabeth Verpoorte
Institute of Microtechnology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
Instructor:
Dr. Harald van Lintel
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne Switzerland
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Within the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and biological and chemical detection communities, Microfluidics refers to the research and development of microscale devices that handle very small volumes of fluids (nano- and picoliter volumes). These devices may perform tasks such as DNA analysis or the separation of human blood cells. As Micromachining techniques have advanced, more and more microfluidic components are being produced. These minature pumps, valves, and flow manifolds allow fluid handling systems having very low volumes to be produced. When these are combined with miniature detectors it becomes possible to produce so called μ-TAS systems (micro total analysis systems). These use the microfluidic components to obtain analysis systems which respond quickly and require extremely low sample volumes, on the order of a few μl. This can be particularly advantageous in many situations in which either the quantity of the samples is extremely limited, or when any of the required reagents are toxic or expensive.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Advantages of miniaturization for (bio)analytical chemistry and diagnostics
Addressing the problems of miniaturization: Micromachining techniques for construction of miniaturized analysis systems
μTAS: historical perspective
Sensors
Microfluidic systems
Micromachining for chemical microsystems
Established: wet bulk and surface micromachining of silicon
New materials and techniques:
Reactive Ion Etching
Glass, polymers, etc.
Microfluidic components
Micromachined components that have other functions e.g. optical, electric, etc.
Advances in system integration: interfacing and packaging approaches
ANALYSIS AND DIAGNOSTICS
Separations on chip: Capillary electrophoresis / high performance liquid chromatography / etc.
Designing chips for CE/HPLC: Back to some basics
Fabrication and implementation
Successful examples
Valveless manipulation and propulsion of ultra small sample volumes
Chips for sample pretreatment
Flow injection analysis
Filtration
THE FUTURE
Chips as tools for cell analysis
High throughput analysis
Synthesis on chip
Future technology trends
WEB DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Instructor:
Mrs. Lisa Gardner
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM
Lisa Gardner is a Computer Information Specialist for the Computing, Information, and Communications Division's Training, Development and Coordination Team at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lisa has been utilizing the Internet for nine years, with emphasis on the Web for the last five years. Lisa is LANL's Web Trainer, providing hands-on training on the Internet, Netscape, HTML, JAVA for non-programmers, and FrontPage 98 and to LANL employee's. Along with Web training, Lisa is also on the team that provides training for the LANL Labwide Business Information Systems-Lisa has a M.A. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies from the University of New Mexico.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
With the enormous explosion of information now available on the Web, there is no time like now to learn how to weave your own web space. This course provides comprehensive hands-on experience with HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the language of the Web, and one of the more popular Web editors, FrontPage 98. Participants must have at least an understanding of the Web and browsers.
In the first half of this one-day course participants will learn the basics of laying out a Web site and Web site managing and gain basic understanding of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the language for the World Wide Web. Topics covered include commands and standards, creating and editing HTML documents, linking documents and inserting graphics. The second half of the day, participants will gain a thorough understanding of how to use the Explorer; use the Editor to create a Web site; create Web pages using templates and themes; add and alter text; customize and enhance the Web page; create links; insert and alter graphics; layout and create tables; learn to use the Image Composer and a discussion on publishing and server-side maintenance (time allowing).
AUTOMATING THE LAB WITH TOOL COMMAND LANGUAGE (TCL)
Instructor:
Mr. Petar Stojadinovic
Chiron Corp. Emeryville, CA
Currently at Chiron working on Automating Drug Discovery processes, Petar Stojadinovic has been doing Laboratory Automation in the clinical, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical laboratories. In addition, Petar is an Engineering and Information technology technical course instructor at the University of California where he is teaching a more in depth course on “Automating the Lab with TCL”. Petar Stojadinovic is on the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) scientific committee where he has organized and served as chairman for the Biotechnology and Informatics Sessions. He was awarded an Outstanding Service Award from the ALA and continues to contribute to the success of the Sessions and the ALA. Petar Stojadinovic is currently active in the formation of the Biotechnology, Informatics, Technology, and Industrial and Academic Certification Programs with the ALA, Industry, the University of California Regents and other Academic Institutions.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Tcl/Tk enables effective and efficient development cycle turnaround, easy maintainability of software, and cross platform portability and support as a freeware, shareware, or commercial product. In addition, it offers an interactive development environment for building graphical user interface (GUI) applications, web development, and embedded system programming and control. In this course developers shall gain practical knowledge in using Tcl with hands on experience. The focus of this course is to show that Tcl/Tk is being used in commercial products and to train developers in utilizing it in industry.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
Tcl fundamentals and syntax
Advantages in using Tcl: When to use Tcl, how to use
Application programming with Tcl: Where and who has used Tcl and their successful projects
Tk toolkit
Options and extensibility
Interfacing with VB and C++
Bioscript-Pro
PROJECTS INCLUDE:
GUI Development: Develope a GUI application using Tcl/Tk, take advantage with its extensibility with other languages such as VB and C++
Write a simple script for the Multipette
Embedded System and Control: Write an embedded program script to automate a laboratory's liquid handling and sample tracking on a Beckman robotic workstation, Biomek 2000®. Use Bioscript-Pro to assist in writing TCL procedures and utilize built-in procedures. Execute script and enter parameters through a GUI in VB.
Continuing Education Credits for this course are available upon request
COMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY
Instructor:
Dr. Aubrey Mendonca
IRORI 11149 N. Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA 92037
Aubrey Mendonca completed his graduate work at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Canada in 1989. His thesis was based on the development of chiral animating reagents. After that he worked with the National Foundation for Cancer Research developing new agents for the photodynamic therapy of cancer. He then joined the Medical Research Council of Canada as part of the PENCE (Protein Engineering Network Center of Excellence) Network where he was part of the team developing new methods for large-scale purification of peptides. He then left to set up the peptide division of Biomira, in Edmonton, Canada to synthesize cancer vaccines. Aubrey then moved to San Diego to be the Director for Novabiochem USA, where he helped develop the combinatorial chemistry catalog for resins. Since January 1998, he has moved to IRORI in La Jolla where he is presently the Director of Marketing and Product Manager. He is also the author and co-author on a number of articles as well as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Wiley's Solid-Phase Organic Syntheses.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course is for beginner and intermediate students. It will provide an overview of the technology and its use in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Background to the techniques available that involve both solution and solid phase technology. Emphasis will then focus on the solid phase technology with examples of parallel and split-and-pool synthesis. Instruction provided on resins, linkers, grafted surfaces, and encoding technology. Software demonstrations and hands on experience in building/planning of small virtual libraries using the directed sorting technology will also be offered. An informal workshop will help students to evaluate alternative methods in combinatorial and automated synthesis.
DATA MINING
Instructor:
Dr. David A Nix
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM
Dave Nix received his B.S. from Stanford University in 1992, studying neural networks under Professor David Rumelhart. In 1993, he was awarded and Office of Naval Research Graduate Fellowship to study statistical pattern recognition and chose to attend the Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he received his M.S. in 1995 and his Ph.D. in 1998. He has been a Technical Staff Member in the Computer Research and Applications Group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1996.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This one-day short course will provide an introduction to the mathematical models that comprise what has come to be called “data mining.” The goal of the course will be to enable researches unfamiliar with statistical pattern recognition to understand the context, capabilities, and limitations of current methodologies. Topics will be presented in a unified mathematical framework and include density estimation, clustering, classification, regression (prediction), neural networks, radial-basis functions, genetic algorithms, parameter optimization methods, unsupervised vs. supervised machine learning, Bayesian methods, hidden Markov models (HMMs), other methods for sequence processing, dimensionality reduction, and committee methods (e.g., boosting and bagging).
A rudimentary understanding of calculus will be assumed, but requisite probability theory will be introduced during the lecture. Real-world applications will be used as illustrative examples of various methods.
LIMS IN THE ORGANIZATION
Instructor:
Dr. Robert D. McDowall
McDowall Consulting Bromley, Kent UK
Bob McDowall is an analytical chemist with over 25 years experience and over 15 years experience with LIMS. He has worked for 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry. For the past five years Bob has been the Principal of McDowall Consulting, Bromley, UK.
His achievements include:
LIMS Award 1997
Editor of the first book on LIMS in 1987
Author or co-author of over 40 papers and book chapters on LIMS
Over 80 oral presentations on LIMS to national and international conferences and undergraduate courses
Presented more than 20 workshops on LIMS at international meetings
Editor of Laboratory Automation and Information Management
Writer of the Questions of Quality column for LC-GC and LC-GC International magazines
Writer of the Validation and Verification column for Scientific Data Management
Member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of LC-GC and LC-GC International, Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, Laboratory Automation and Robotics and Scientific Data Management
Course leader of the Practical Computer validation course for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) are databases customized to organize and automate the sample and information flow within analytical laboratories and their customer base. The course is intended to give an overview of key stages in a project and to utilize the input of the attendees experiences within the group. Although intended for analytical laboratories; the principles outlined can be applied to Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) for clinical laboratories, toxicology information systems, and other information systems.
This short course will be a mixture of lectures, case studies and open discussions. Participants are expected to contribute their experiences and problems to the course for discussion.
THE COURSE WILL COVER THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:
Introductions: participant learning objectives
Developing the overall strategy for a project via the LIMS matrix: High level prioritization of the functions and phasing of the project. Covers what is a LIMS, the full scope of a system within an organization and approaches to implementing the system, replacing an existing system
Overview of the life cycle of a laboratory information management system
User requirements specification: Why is it important? What is it? Role of prototyping
Role of the Users in a LIMS project
Validation of a LIMS: life cycle approach and the documented evidence required
Risk assessment of a project throughout the project life cycle
Open forum: where any questions can be raised by the participants
The course is not aimed at a technical level: programming and detailed technical architectures will not be covered.
MASS SPECTROMETRY IN AUTOMATION AND DRUG DISCOVERY
Instructor:
Dr. Gary Siuzdak
The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, CA
Instructor:
Mike Greig
Alanex Corporation San Diego, CA
Gary Siuzdak received his B.S. (Chemistry) and B.A. (Mathematics) from Rhode Island College in 1985 and a Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry) from Dartmouth College in 1990. In 1990 he began at The Scripps Research Institute as Director of Mass Spectrometry and in 1996 he joined the Scripps faculty. In 1994 he founded Mass Consortium Corporation, a company applying and developing new approaches in mass analysis technology and is the organizer of the San Diego Mass Analysis Network. He has written “Mass Spectrometry for Biotechnology” (1996, Academic Press) and his research has focused on biochemical applications of mass spectrometry including viral analysis and combinatorial chemistry.
Mike Greig received his B.S. (Chemistry) from University of Delaware in 1989. He headed west and spent 2 years at Revlon Science Institute in La Jolla before moving to Isis Pharmaceuticals in 1991. As a Senior Research Associate at Isis, he implemented an open access MS system for the Med Chem department, researched non-covalent interactions of DNA with DNA, proteins, and small molecules and probed gas-phase structures of single- and double-stranded DNA. Before leaving for his current position at Alanex, he also helped develop a patented high throughput biological screening assay using high resolution mass spectrometry. At Alanex, a San Diego combinatorial chemistry company, he heads the mass spec group which uses the latest technology in high-throughput MS acquisition and analysis, continues non-covalent substrate:ligand MS studies, and performs a variety of managerial duties.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Mass spectrometry is playing an increasingly important role in the molecular characterization of combinatorial libraries, natural products, and biopolymers. The development of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), electrospray ionization (ESI), and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) have significantly extended its application to a wide variety of challenging problems in drug discovery. Recent applications include identification of effective ligands in ligand-receptor binding assays, new catalysts, enzyme inhibitors, and characterization of combinatorial libraries.
An efficient qualitative and quantitative assay is crucial for distinguishing the active components in libraries and for obtaining structure-activity relationships. ESI and MALDI mass spectrometry have succeeded as such by qualitatively screening combinatorial libraries and recently have been used in quantitative assays. In addition, the ease with which these methods can be automated has brought mass spectrometry to the forefront as an analytical tool for the modern laboratory. In our presentation we plan to cover a wide range of topics in the automation and application of mass spectrometry to drug discovery. These include: an introduction to current methods in MS/ “open access” mass spectrometry/ high throughput characterization of combinatorial libraries/ high throughput ESI and MALDI-MS quantitation of biomolecules/ MS-based strategies for characterizing receptor:ligand and enzyme:substrate interactions/ novel strategies for the automated analysis of resin bound biomolecules/ automated approaches in MALDI-MS analysis and MALDI post-source decay MS for characterizing combinatorial libraries/MS-based strategies for protein identification including examples of database searching/ future directions in MS.
AUTOMATING THE LABORATORY WITH VISUAL BASIC
Instructor:
Martin M. Echols
Bristol Myers Squibb King Of Prussia, PA
Instructor:
Dr. Mark F. Russo
Bristol Myers Squibb Princeton, NJ
Mark Russo received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 1989 from Rutgers University. For eight years he has worked in Laboratory Automation, Laboratory Robotics and Laboratory Informatics in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries. His accomplishments include the development of several laboratory computer applications for instrument control and laboratory data management in addition to custom laboratory robot systems for a number of automation applications including high-throughput screening. He has published on many laboratory automation-related topics, including a book titled Automating Science and Engineering Laboratories with Visual Basic, which will be published by John Wiley and Sons in March, 1999. He is a member of the Scientific Committee for the LabAutomation conference. He is also a member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation and Laboratory Robotics and Automation. Dr. Russo is currently with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the Combinatorial Drug Discovery Group where he leads the Laboratory Automation Informatics effort.
Martin Echols graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor's degree in biology/chemistry in 1976. Since then he has worked in a variety of scientific positions in both academic and industrial settings. He first began writing interfaces for laboratory data acquisition in 1983 in response to his lab's need for faster data analysis. Since that time he has produced software interfaces for numerous instruments and implemented a variety of robotic systems. From 1988 to 1994 Martin managed a group of scientists and technicians, dedicated to laboratory automation and robotics at the Sterling Winthrop Pharmaceutical Company. Martin is currently employed with the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company where he is site manager for combinatorial chemistry automation and develops Internet based data systems. Martin has utilized Visual Basic in his work since it first appeared, developing instrument interfaces, robotic control systems, network interfacing and database connectivity.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The Visual Basic ® programming environment for Microsoft Windows® has become one of the most prominent custom application development tools for the automated laboratory. Visual Basic (VB) combines a simple programming language, intuitive graphical user interface development tools, and a wide range of built-in and third-party software libraries. These features make VB attractive for developing custom software components for automated laboratory systems.
This short course will introduce the Visual Basic programming system and cover the features that make VB an invaluable tool for automating a laboratory. Several relevant sample programs will be examined. Hands-on sessions will provide the opportunity to work with VB and sample programs.
TOPICS TO BE COVERED INCLUDE:
A quick review of the Visual Basic language and development environment.
Device Communications with Visual Basic including Dynamic Data Exchange, serial port communications using RS-232, TCP/IP network communications, and communicating through files.
Device Control and Data Handling, including multi-threading, state diagrams, parsing, and techniques for building instrument controllers.
Graphical Interfaces and Data Presentation including scientific plotting, tabular display and editing, building gauges, knobs, and other interactive graphical displays.
Visual Basic for Applications and the MS Excel Object Model.
Database application development.
This class will provide a sufficient background to begin successful development of a wide range of custom laboratory applications using Visual Basic.