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All 7 presentations are included in this discount price (7 presentations for the price of 6).

If you select this option it will not ghost out the remaining selections on the page, so please DO NOT select from the 1-7 presentation options listed below as you will be charged more money.

Note: the date and time listed below is a limitation of the website, but rest assured that this does include all presentations on Friday, September 6th and Saturday, September 7th.

Melissa McLauchlin, Roche

An abundance of information has become available in the last several years that links HPV infections to cervical cancer. A vast majority of women will be infected with HPV by the age of 50. How do these women know if their HPV infection will transform into cervical cancer? What testing is available to them to provide additional information? Recently the ASCCP published their updated risk-based management consensus guidelines for abnormal cervical cancer screening tests. The inclusion of a dual-stain biomarker test as an acceptable triage method marks a critical moment for clinicians and ultimately their patients. The ability to identify disease early and with certainty through screening is crucial to help better manage patients. This provides an overview of the advancements in the detection of cervical cancer to help women answer these critical questions and to provide additional confidence and reassurance to both women and clinicians in their cervical screening journey.

Gavin Ryan, Evident Scientific

Technology moves fast. We frequently hear customers say, ‘I didn’t know the scanner or software could image that or analyze that.’ This presentation summarizes the latest developments from whole slide scanning technology and subsequent image analysis. A slide scanner can automatically scan 200 slides, and then batch analyze them, thereby increasing productivity. Whole slides are imaged in brightfield or fluorescence with or without multiple Z planes, and each image is automatically stitched together to create one large virtual image, exactly like Google Maps. A modern scanner can combine imaging techniques like fluorescence, polarized light, darkfield, and brightfield. Did you know you can remove the coverslip from a fluorescently stained slide, stain using H&E, scan again in brightfield, and then add both scans together to create one image? A positive cell in fluorescence can then be accurately identified on the H&E layer and, therefore, increase the quality of the data from the same glass slide. On the same piece of tissue, research groups are detecting 20, 30 or more targets by IF and stacking them together in one image for more powerful diagnostics. These large images can be remotely viewed and shared on your phone, tablet, or PC without downloading them. Advanced image analysis can not only identify and count each cell type but also identify patterns and trends within tissue answering simple questions like ‘Is the treatment working?’ Visiopharm is an AI-based image analysis solution to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and automation in your tissue workflows. Powerful Visiopharm AI software has become so advanced that it detects cancer from H&E without the need for IHC and identifies tissue morphology from unstained tissue sections. Visualizations, including heatmaps and markups, flag areas of interest for the user to evaluate therefore reducing time searching through the image. Output metrics, including spatial

Dr. Brad Bolon, DVM, PhD, GEMpath, Inc.

When investigating structural changes in tissues, histologists and pathologists are almost like allies! This talk will explore opportunities for providing pathologists with what they need to correctly perform their role while ensuring that they provide you with the support necessary to ensure the satisfactory performance of the Histology laboratory.

Dr. Kimberly Jordan, PhD, University of Colorado

Spatial transcriptomics and proteomics are dynamic and rapidly evolving fields that are revolutionizing scientific understanding of tissue microenvironments. These techniques hold immense promise in unveiling the complexity of spatially resolved gene and protein expression patterns, paving the way for new breakthroughs in disease diagnosis, treatment, and drug development. High parameter tissue imaging methodologies enable the simultaneous visualization of numerous RNA and protein species within intact tissue sections, preserving spatial context at high resolution. However, each technology introduces unique challenges for histologic technicians, including variations in tissue compatibility, sample preparation protocols, and methods for assay validation. This presentation will highlight specific examples of how spatial transcriptomics and proteomics techniques have been applied to investigate the molecular landscape of tissue architecture and their utility in discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Tiffany Howl, Agilent

The presentation will provide an introductory overview of the PD-L1 pathway and its relevance in cancer. Its purpose is to enhance the laboratory technician’s understanding of the pathologist scoring methods, including the distinction between total proportion, and combined positive score, as well as an examination of mononuclear inflammatory cells. This knowledge will facilitate more informed discussions with pathologists.

Dr. Richard Cartun, MD, PhD, Hartford Hospital

Immunohistochemistry has developed over the decades and what was once considered ground breaking, is a fundamental piece in today’s diagnostic world. As we see the advent of new scientific avenues, like molecular, it is important to reflect back on the journey of IHC so that laboratory professionals can appreciate the importance of discovery and its impact on patients.

Dr. Neil Box, PhD, Caris Bioscience

Caris Life Sciences stands at the forefront of molecular pathology, delivering state of the art personalized molecular profiles to guide therapy for cancer patients. The Caris platform employs advanced techniques such as whole exome sequencing (WES), whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS), and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Histotechnology practices such as meticulous tissue processing and microdissection, robotic specimen handling, and digital pathology stand at the cornerstone of success for precision medicine in cancer treatment, allowing for the detailed molecular characterization necessary to guide personalized therapy for late-stage metastatic cancer patients. This presentation will focus on the histotechnology practices at Caris Life Sciences that enable the high throughput slide preparation and staining needed to ensure accurate high-volume output of the immunohistochemical evaluations that complement genomic findings. Specialized sample preparation is used to ensure successful genomic sequencing, as well as the tumor microdissection and nucleic acid extraction performed at scale to feed the largest collection of Illumina NovaSeqs in the world. These procedures will be reviewed and discussed. More recently, Caris Life Sciences has innovated with the Caris Assure liquid biopsy, which harnesses WES data from circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). This non-invasive option broadens the scope of molecular pathology, enabling real-time monitoring of tumor dynamics while ensuring patient comfort and minimizing procedural risks associated with traditional biopsy samples. In conclusion, by merging advanced histotechnology with molecular profiling, Caris Life Sciences empowers healthcare providers with the essential tools to make informed treatment decisions, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes in the rapidly evolving landscape of cancer care.