CLN Daily 2026
For the third consecutive year, the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine’s (ADLM’s) Data Science Symposium is set to take place on July 30, the final day of ADLM 2026. The event brings together laboratory professionals, data scientists, informaticians, and industry leaders to explore how data science and artificial intelligence can be applied to deliver measurable value in clinical laboratory medicine.
According to Sarah Wheeler, PhD, FADLM, CC (NRCC), chair of ADLM’s Data Analytics Steering Committee, that includes anyone “from people who think they might be interested in data science to people who are frustrated by all of the information and data that they’re trying to process regularly, to people who feel like they’ve been doing data science for a very long time.” The event provides a collaborative opportunity for its participants to come up with what is going to continue to move the field forward, said Wheeler, who is an associate professor of pathology in the division of clinical chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
The symposium will kick off with a keynote address from Brian Jackson, MD, the CLIA director for the University of Maryland Medical Center Laboratories of Pathology and director of clinical pathology.
“Dr. Jackson has been doing work in lab data science for a very long time,” said Wheeler, adding that his experience in the field is based on both academic knowledge and real-world implementation in his own lab.
The day will also include lightning talks, which are 10-minute presentations on current data science projects; a panel on regulatory and quality compliance in laboratory medicine; a poster showcase; and two networking events
The second networking event was added this year based on feedback from last year’s symposium that participants wanted an opportunity to talk about data-science advances they’re excited about. “This is a place where everyone interested in data science can come together and discuss things, whether they feel they have a lot of experience in it or not,” Wheeler said.
While the lightning talks allow presenters and attendees to glean information about clinical lab projects done with data science, the poster showcase gives scientists a chance to highlight what they’re doing in real time, with attendees learning about the latest things happening in people’s laboratories, she said.
Looking back on three years of Data Science Symposiums, Wheeler is pleased to see how the event has blossomed into a must-do immediately following the ADLM Annual Meeting.
“[That first symposium] was a bit of a fingers crossed, we hope people will want to come,” she said. The committee hoped for good attendance given that people would already be at the ADLM meeting location, but they worried that attendees might feel drained after the days-long gathering.
Fortunately, that concern turned out to be unfounded. “It’s remarkable to see how engaged people are despite this being right after the Annual Meeting,” Wheeler said. “I think that’s a large testament to how much data science we do and how much more we want to do with data science to improve patient care.”
She also credits ADLM with taking the leap to start the symposium and industry partners for supporting it, including this year’s sponsors Prenosis, Siemens Healthineers, and Indigo BioAutomation.
Industry partners contribute more than just their sponsorship to the event. They participate throughout the symposium, including in this year’s panel discussion. “None of us do data science in a silo,” Wheeler said. “Those of us working in laboratories, those of us working in information systems, those of us working in instrumentation — [we all] have to come together,” she said.
Jen A. Miller is a freelance journalist who lives in Audubon, N.J. +Bluesky: @byjenamiller.bsky.social.