DAY TWO
8:00 am Coffee & Networking
8:55 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Navigating the Landscape: Building Spatial Biology Capabilities & Advancing Drug Discovery
9:00 am Reserved for Flagship Biosciences
Synopsis
9:30 am Panel Discussion: Navigating Strategic Choices: Building Internal Capabilities vs. Partnering with External Experts in Spatial Biology
Synopsis
- Outlining the factors that influence whether an organization should build internal spatial biology capabilities or work with external partners
- Delving into case studies of organizations that chose to scale through internal development and those that successfully worked with CROs to expand their capabilities
- Analysing how hybrid models provide flexibility, reduce risks, and ensure a balance of internal control and external expertise
10:15 am From Bench to Breakthroughs: Leveraging Spatial Transcriptomics Platforms in Early Discovery & Beyond
Synopsis
- Discussing how spatial transcriptomics can be utilized in early drug discovery to identify novel targets and understand disease mechanisms at a cellular level
- Exploring the benefits of integrating spatial transcriptomics with other orthogonal technologies
- Addressing the current challenges in spatial transcriptomics, such as data complexity, cost, and technical limitations, and discussing potential solutions and future directions
10:45 am Technology Slam
Synopsis
As you enjoy your morning refreshments on Day Two, you will have the opportunity to be face-to-face with the field’s most innovative and exciting modelling technologies and supporting platform providers. This dedicated technology slam session will enable you to identify your next go-to technology provider and advance your drug development workflow effectively
11:15 am Morning Break & Networking
Enhancing Target Profiling & Understanding Immune Dynamics to Navigate Cell-Cell Interactions
11:45 am Innovation in Preclinical & Translational Safety: Unveiling Spatial Target Expression Profiling with CosMx
Synopsis
- Leveraging cutting-edge CosMx technology to generate comprehensive tissue expression profiles in human tissues, enabling precise spatial mapping of molecular targets within complex tissues
- Achieving unparalleled spatial resolution by using CosMx to profile target expression at the single-cell level within tissue microarrays, unlocking insights into cell-specific responses and behaviors in several tissues in one slide
- Utilizing spatial transcriptomics data to assess safety profiles and identify potential toxicological effects, driving informed decision-making in drug development and preclinical safety assessments
12:15 pm Roundtable: Mapping Immune Reactions in the Tumor Microenvironment
Synopsis
- Diving into the spatial patterns of T-cell exhaustion within the TME and how these insights can inform novel immunotherapy strategies
- Investigating how spatial biology is used to identify regions of immunosuppression within tumors and the implications for treatment response
- Discussing how spatial technologies can capture the movement and interactions of immune cells over time to better understand immune dynamics in the TME
12:45 pm Spatial Transcriptomics Reveal Interplay Between CAFs & Tumorphagocytic TAMs that Governs Immunosuppression
Synopsis
- Exploring the technical aspects and innovations that enable high-resolution mapping of cellular interactions
- Detailing how high-resolution spatial mapping reveals insights into cell-cell interactions within tissues
- Reviewing examples where these techniques have been used to study immune cell interactions, tumor-stroma dynamics, and neuronal networks
1:15 pm Lunch & Networking
Unifying Spatial Technologies & Standardizing Data Processing
2:15 pm Multi-Platform Spatial Precision & Validation for Clinical Applications
Synopsis
- Evaluating inter- and intra-run precision of Xenium and Visium platforms across diverse clinical FFPE samples, ensuring reliable results for clinical studies
- Developing methods for integrating spatial technologies into a unified coordinate system, facilitating accurate comparisons and improving validation processes
- Quantifying spatial concordance across multiple platforms, demonstrating the suitability of 10X spatial profiling for clinical assays and advancing confidence in data-driven decisions
2:45 pm Panel Discussion: Standardizing Data Processing Across Spatial Biology Platforms
Synopsis
- Summarising the challenges of inconsistencies in data processing due to varied computational tools and resources
- Outlining current efforts and proposals for developing universal or standardized methods
- Navigating case studies of successful standardization initiatives and their impact