Conference Day Two | Thursday, October 23, 2025
7:50 am Check In & Light Breakfast
8:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Advancing Spatial Multi-Omics & Practical Lab Infrastructure to Provide Novel Insights into Complex Inflammatory Diseases
9:00 am Spatial Multi-Omics of Crohn’s Disease: Advancing Pathobiology & Target Discovery in Biopharma
Synopsis
- Highlighting the application of cutting-edge spatial omics technologies – including spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and high-order multiplexed protein imaging – to study the complex pathobiology of Crohn’s disease using FFPE tissue
- Integrating spatial and single-cell data with histological annotation, we reveal distinct epithelial states, immune-stromal interactions, and ulcer-associated transcriptional programs that inform therapeutic hypothesis generation
- Harnessing this multi-omics approach enables high-resolution, spatially contextualized insights directly from archived clinical samples, offering a powerful platform for target discovery and translational research in chronic inflammatory diseases
9:30 am Building Internal Spatial Biology Infrastructure: Lessons from Multi- Platform Implementation in Ulcerative Colitis Research
Synopsis
- Systematic multi-platform comparative studies of workflow requirements and output metrics to inform critical laboratory infrastructure decisions
- Implementation of pathologist-guided tissue quality reviews along with RNA quality assessments
- Application to studies of ulcerative colitis, assessments of intestinal fibrosis, and custom analytical tools to compare data across technologies
NEW DATA!
10:00 am Morning Networking Break
Unlocking Spatial Insights to Drive Mechanistic Understanding & Target Discovery to Catalyse Novel Therapeutic Breakthroughs
11:00 am Application of Spatial Omics Approaches in Inflammation & Immunology Research
Synopsis
- Comparing available spatial platforms to understand their strengths, limitations, and suitability for inflammation and immunology studies
- Showcasing how spatial immune profiling can uncover novel cellular interactions and tissue microenvironments that drive disease mechanisms in inflammatory disorders
- Demonstrating a spatial multi-omics workflow that integrates transcriptomics, proteomics, and histopathology to generate deeper, actionable insights for target discovery and biomarker development
NEW DATA!
11:30 am Panel Discussion: Leveraging Spatial Biology to Unlock Novel Insights into Complex Disease for Enhanced Therapeutic & Biomarker Development
Synopsis
- What are some of the most promising ways spatial biology is helping us better understand complex disease mechanisms that traditional approaches may miss?
- How can we translate novel spatial insights into robust, clinically relevant biomarkers and therapeutic targets that hold up across different patient populations?
- What practical steps are needed to integrate spatial biology more effectively into discovery and development pipelines?
12:30 pm Lunch Break & Networking
Optimizing Spatial & Single-Cell Strategies to Translate Impactful & Reproducible Results into Clinical Trials
1:30 pm Leveraging Spatial & Single-Cell Approaches for Scalable Insights in Disease Research
Synopsis
- Showcasing practical strategies for integrating spatial omics and single-cell sequencing to map disease mechanisms at high resolution
- Exploring scalable workflows that can be applied across diverse indications
- Highlighting how robust multi-omics integration drives better understanding of key cellular drivers, pathways, and phenotypes to inform target discovery
NEW DATA!
2:00 pm Transforming Raw Spatial Data into Standardized, Reproducible, & Interoperable Insights to Expedite Spatial Biology Adoption
Synopsis
- Building confidence in cell segmentation — and understanding how algorithm choice impacts what you see and miss
- Aligning cell definitions and annotations across spatial, single-cell, and multi-omics datasets to speak a common language and improve interoperability
- Reconciling pathology insight with spatial-omics molecular resolution to build robust spatial niches
2:30 pm Bridging Histopathology AI & Spatial Omics for Richer Context, Better Targets & Translational Success
Synopsis
- Establishing practical strategies for integrating histopathology AI with spatial transcriptomics and proteomics workflows to generate richer, more meaningful data
- Underpinning key considerations for ensuring data quality, reproducibility, and contextual relevance across therapeutic areas
- Strategizing how bridging these approaches can strengthen discovery, translational research, and clinical decision-making
NEW COMPANY!
3:00 pm Roundtable Discussion: Scaling Spatial & Single-Cell Workflows to Unlock Consistent, High-Quality Multi-Omics Data to Discover Novel Targets
Synopsis
- How to expand from small pilots to routine use of spatial and single-cell pipelines across disease programs?
- What are the practical steps to standardise sampling, assays, and data integration for reproducibility across sites and teams?
- How to build fit-for-purpose infrastructure and partnerships that reduce variability and deliver reliable insights for drug discovery?
3:30 pm Afternoon Networking Break
Advancing Biomarker Discovery & Development Through Spatial Signatures to Incorporate into Clinical Trials
4:00 pm Leveraging Computational Pathology to Expand Patient Stratification & Biomarker Development in Spatial Biology
Synopsis
- How AI-driven digital pathology is identifying non-binary biomarkers and expanding patient populations beyond conventional markers
- Practical strategies for integrating computational pathology into early-phase drug development and translational pipelines
- Lessons learned in standardizing digital pathology workflows to enable robust spatial biomarker discovery and clinical implementation
4:30 pm Studying T-Cells in a TME with a Combination of 10x Visium HD & Single- Cell Sequencing
Synopsis
- Identifying tumor-reactive TCRs from single-cell sequencing and in vitro reactivity screening
- Linking T cell phenotypes and TCR reactivities to TME context through spatial transcriptomics
- Demonstrating our approach on two cancer samples with very distinct patterns of T cell infiltration