Core Projects

AI Isn’t the Product, the User Experience Is (Japanese Subtitles)

Brought to you by the AI workstream of the UXLS community
 
In pharma R&D, UX design is the difference between an AI breakthrough that changes how scientists work and a promising model that never leaves the lab.
 
Exploring how the future of AI in pharma R&D depends not just on the technology itself, but on the experience of the people using it, this webinar brings together voices from the pharmaceutical industry, software creators, and UX professionals. The discussion will focus on humans at the core of AI adoption and how considered design transforms AI from a promising tool into a breakthrough that scientists and businesses can truly embrace.

こちらは、UXLSコミュニティの AI ワークストリームがお届けします。

製薬 R&D において、UX デザインは「科学者の働き方を変える AI のブレークスルー」と「研究室から出られない有望なモデル」を分ける重要な要素です。

本ウェビナーでは、AI の未来がテクノロジーそのものだけでなく“それを使う人の体験”に左右されるという視点から、製薬業界、ソフトウェア開発者、UX の専門家が集まり議論します。AI 導入の中心にいる“人”に焦点を当て、熟慮されたデザインが AI を単なる有望なツールから、科学者や企業が真に受け入れられるブレークスルーへと変える方法を探ります。

EQIP – Enhanced Questionnaire for Instrument Procurement

EQIP (Enhanced Questionnaire for Instrument Procurement) is designed to provide a standardized, centralized format for capturing the core information pharmaceutical companies need to evaluate laboratory instruments. This includes data on:

  • IT architecture compatibility
  • Integration capabilities
  • Regulatory support
  • Data security and connectivity

This unified questionnaire fosters stronger vendor relationships by clearly communicating pharma-specific needs.

EQIP White Paper

EQIP initiative – a standardized approach to gathering and sharing key technical and digital compatibility information across the pharmaceutical and vendor landscape. This white paper outlines the current state of industry practices, the problems this initiative addresses, and the value it brings to both the pharmaceutical industry and its vendors.

This initiative was developed by the Steering Committee of the Future Labs Evolution Community, a cross-company collaboration fostered by the Pistoia Alliance and composed of representatives from nine leading pharmaceutical organizations: GSK, MSD, Merck Healthcare KGaA, CSL, Vertex, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk.

AI Quick Start Learning Resources for UX

The “Quick Start Learning Resources” guide from the UXLS UX for AI and AI for UX workstream offers a curated selection of materials to help UX professionals explore the intersection of user experience and artificial intelligence. It brings together foundational readings, reference links, and practical insights designed to help practitioners deepen their understanding of AI and its impact on UX practice.

AI Isn’t the Product, the User Experience Is

Brought to you by the AI workstream of the UXLS community
 
In pharma R&D, UX design is the difference between an AI breakthrough that changes how scientists work and a promising model that never leaves the lab.
 
Exploring how the future of AI in pharma R&D depends not just on the technology itself, but on the experience of the people using it, this webinar brings together voices from the pharmaceutical industry, software creators, and UX professionals. The discussion will focus on humans at the core of AI adoption and how considered design transforms AI from a promising tool into a breakthrough that scientists and businesses can truly embrace. 

Speakers
  • Julie Morrison – Head of Study Management, Instem
  • Anna Heyden – Product Discovery and Design Lead, AstraZeneca
  • Voula Gkatzidou – Principal Service Designer, GSK
  • Nelson Taruc – Design Lead, Lextech

Lab of the Future: Presentation of 2025 Survey Results

Now in its third year, the Lab of the future survey is a collaboration between Pistoia Alliance and Lab of the Future Congress (Open Pharma Research) bringing together unique insights into how the life sciences R&D environment is evolving.

Within this webinar we will provide valuable insights to the community, highlight key industry touch points, and showcase a unique view of the 2025 data to foster discussions that helps the audience to navigate change and identify opportunities.

Speakers
  • Becky Upton, President, Pistoia Alliance
  • Christian Baber, Chief Portfolio Officer, Pistoia Alliance
  • Mark Fish, VP & GM of Digital Lab Solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Joshua Lally, Conference Producer, Open Pharma Research
  • James Whitham, CCO, Amino Data

Session #3 Change Management Macro Workstream

This session explores how to align incentives with transformation goals by pooling incentive mechanisms and assessing their impact on change adoption.


Moderator:
· Dana Karen (DK) Ciccone, Consulting Delivery Excellence, Kalleid

Future Labs Evolution New Stream

The Future Labs Evolution SteerCo would like to launch a new workstream under the initiative titled “Peer-Reviewed Publication on Standardizing Lab Data for AI.”

Workshop Goal: 

Pistoia Alliance is planning to publish a peer reviewed open access journal on scientific data acquisition, handling, and the usage of cutting-edge developments in Lab-IT including AI and ML. The goal of this workshop is to capture key inputs from participants and set the foundation for the journal’s scope, structure, and development roadmap.

Additional info:

Technology in academic and industrial research changes rapidly, resulting in risks as well as opportunities. AI for example provides such new opportunities, but as a prerequisite, scientific data needs to be properly acquired, collected, contextualized, and structured. In comparison to other industrial branches, normalization, and standardization of data from scientific laboratory equipment is lagging far behind.

To close the gap and to give orientation on recent developments in scientific data management, Pistoia Alliance’s new journal will feature all topics needed to develop a data infrastructure capable of handling all lab-data from various instruments and software. Independent from vendors and manufacturers.

Moderator: Arne Kusserow, Senior Business Analyst R&D Informatics, Merck Healthcare KGaA

Lab of the Future 2025

Our 2025 The Evolution of Labs Report has been conducted in partnership with Open Pharma Research, organizers of the Lab of the Future Congress. For the third year running, the survey examines lab technology use and investment, the key benefits and barriers to adoption, and what support is needed to enable the lab of the future. 206 experts contributed to the survey from pharma, biotech, software, services, academia and non-profits across Europe, the Americas and APAC.

Key highlights include:

  • AI use continues to rise but lack of skills is a growing barrier 
  • Hype is cooling in digital twins, quantum and wearables as companies prioritize practical tools like ELNs and cloud platforms
  • The biggest benefit cited for digitizing the lab shifts from efficiency to innovation

Workshop – Open-Source Instrument Data Parser Library Deliverable

This workshop, hosted on July 8, 2025, explores the development of an open-source instrument data parser library to address data format fragmentation in life sciences, aiming to improve data interoperability, reduce redundant effort, and accelerate scientific discovery through scalable, plug-and-play analytics.

Workshop – Instrument & Data Standards Questionnaire

This workshop brings together instrument vendors to provide feedback on a proposed Instrument & Data Standards Questionnaire—aimed at streamlining data compatibility, improving procurement efficiency, and fostering stronger collaboration between pharma and instrument suppliers.