SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 · SEAPORT BOSTON
REAL 2026
Getting Real About Automated Labs
The people running automated labs, and the ones building the technology behind them.
/ ABOUT
Readiness & Enablement for Automated Labs.
With the rapid maturation of physical AI and agentic platforms for pharmaceutical R&D, laboratory automation is evolving at an unprecedented pace — integrating robotics with seamless data capture, analytics, and AI/ML.
Achieving the fully integrated "lab-in-the-loop" vision requires bridging decades of pharma expertise with the cutting edge of life-science technology. REAL 2026 brings pharma, biotech, automation, data, and AI leaders together — with candor — to accelerate our collective learning.
/ SPEAKERS
Featured speakers.
Perspectives from the people actually building and running automated labs.
Ryan Leung
Vice President and Head of Life Science Product
LILA
Nevin Gerek Ince
Director, Digital Labs, Research Digital Products
NOVO NORDISK
Todd Edwards
Chief Technology Integration Officer, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
PNNL
Matt Studney
Chief Customer Officer
TETRASCIENCE
Xinnian Li
Principal Scientist Leading Autonomous Robotic Orchestration and Data Automation
MERCK
Carol Rohl
Associate Vice President, Global Research IT and Informatics
MERCK
Tom Rawlins
VP, Marketing
HIGHRES
Chirag Patel
Head of Sales, North America
AUTOMATA
Michael Hopkins
Product Management, Lab Automation
BENCHLING
Darren Pittman
Principal Lab Orchestration Architect
DOTMATICS
Bohui Li
Product Manager, Lab Automation Solutions
XTALPI INC.
Jason Kelly
Founder & CEO
GINKGO BIOWORKS
Ena Cratsenburg
Chief Business Officer
GINKGO BIOWORKS
Melissa Landon
Head of Commercial and Business Development
MILLIPORESIGMA
Stacie Calad-Thomson
Global Business Development Lead, Pharma Labs and Manufacturing
NVIDIA
/ AGENDA
One day. Ten sessions.
Morning frames the vision and the demand side. Afternoon turns to enablers and what's real today. The closing panel puts them together.
- 9:00 – 9:45 AM
Registration, Breakfast & Networking
- 9:45 – 10:00 AM
Welcome to REAL
Melissa Landon · MilliporeSigma
- 10:00 – 10:30 AM
The Autonomous Wet Lab of the FutureKEYNOTE
Jason Kelly · Ginkgo
- 10:30 – 10:50 AM
Pharma I: Unlocking Next-Gen Translational Bioanalytics for Vaccine Studies for Preclinical and Clinical StudiesTALK
Xinnian Li / Carol Rohl — Merck
- 10:50 – 11:10 AM
Pharma II: Building the Digital Ecosystem for the Lab of the Future — From Data Chaos to AI-Ready InfrastructureTALK
Nevin Gerek — Novo Nordisk
- 11:10 – 11:50 AM
Coffee Break + Optional Ginkgo Facility TourBREAK
Tour: 25 Drydock Ave · 8 min walk
- 11:50 – 12:10 PM
Gov't I: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and ExperimentTALK
Todd Edwards · PNNL
- 12:10 – 12:50 PM
Market View: What We're Seeing Across the IndustryWORKSHOP
Zifo
- 12:50 – 2:00 PM
Lunch + Optional Ginkgo Facility Tour
Tour: 25 Drydock Ave · 8 min walk
- 2:00 – 2:30 PM
Lightning Round: Hardware InnovatorsTALK
- Tom Rawlins (HighRes)
- Bohui Li, Ph.D. (XtalPi)
- Chirag Patel (Automata)
- 2:30 – 3:00 PM
Lightning Round: Software InnovatorsTALK
- Michael Hopkins (Benchling)
- Darren Pittman (Dotmatics)
- Matt Studney (TetraScience)
- 3:00 – 3:30 PM
Coffee Break + Optional Ginkgo Facility TourBREAK
Tour: 25 Drydock Ave · 8 min walk
- 3:30 – 4:00 PM
Scaling the Scientific Method: Frontier AI & Autonomous Labs on the Path to SuperintelligenceTALK
Ryan Leung · LILA
- 4:00 – 4:30 PM
Closing Panel: What Will It Actually Take to Make It REAL? (Consumers)PANEL
Moderator: Ena Cratsenburg · Ginkgo
- 4:30 – 5:00 PM
Closing Panel: What Will It Actually Take to Make It REAL? (Suppliers)PANEL
Moderator: Stacie Calad-Thomson · NVIDIA
- 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Reception at Ginkgo
25 Drydock Ave · 8 min walk
/ VENUE
In the heart of Boston's innovation district.
/ VENUE GALLERY
/ SPONSORS
Made possible by our partners.
/ FAQ