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LabRoots: The 2019 Review

09 Jan, 2020 | Labroots

One of our most successful years to date, 2019 was filled with new events, new site features, and some truly epic speakers. With 19 Virtual Events, 300+ webinars, and 2800+ Trending News articles, LabRoots worked diligently to educate our audience on the latest happenings in many science genres. This article will highlight 2019 at LabRoots, including notable speakers, new events, new features, top Trending News, awards, and much more.

2019 Company Growth

With looming federal budget cuts for life science institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many companies saw a sales decline in 2019, LabRoots included. Fortunately, LabRoots was able to maintain stability, with over $1 million in products sold in Q4. Finishing the year strong allowed us to hire 6 new employees, including Senior Sales Manager, Dana McLain, 2 new web developers, Senior Web Developer, Andrew Lerma and Web Developer, Thomas Doan, Sales Support Manager, Christine Briglia, Marketing Coordinator, Fernanda Farias, and Production Associate, Xavier Gutierrez.

2019 New Product Offerings

LabRoots developed a few new advertising opportunities in 2019, both on our site and through our affiliate social media pages. For information about these offerings, continue below or reach out to advertise@labroots.com.

Text Ads

Sometimes words explain your point better. Text ads deliver cost-effective advertising for all your products, services, and events. Placed on our site or in LabRoots newsletters, maximize your company's reach with this advertising option.

Carousel Social Media Posts

Although this offering is still being developed, carousel posts on LabRoots affiliated Facebook pages, can be a great resource to showcase multiple images (speakers, products, upcoming events, etc.) with detailed information under each image. This allows companies to showcase multiple products and services, to a large audience, at a low cost, all in one place.

2019 New LabRoots Features

In 2019, LabRoots introduced 3 new features to the site, making the user experience easier and more efficient towards helping users see the content that they are most interested in.

Tagging

The first new feature introduced in 2019 was the "Tagging" feature. This feature allows users to tag keywords based on their interests upon registration, making it so the content they are most interested in appears first in their LabRoots feed.

Notifications

The notifications feature pings users when webinars are going live, site-wide, and gives users the option of turning on notifications browser-wide, so they never miss a LabRoots event.

Company Profiles

Company Profiles allow users to stay on top of the products and research being developed in the industry by searching webinar content by company. Company Profiles are sorted alphabetically, featuring the most recent webinars sponsored by each company.

2019 New Virtual Events

LabRoots kicked off 2019 by adding 4 NEW Virtual Events to the year's line-up, going from 15 to 19 Virtual Events total. These new Virtual Events included BioProcessing, Infectious Disease, Forensics & Toxicology, and Influenza.

BioProcessing - January 31, 2019

The first Virtual Event of 2019, the BioProcessing Virtual Conference consisted of 4 main tracks (listed below), surrounding the latest research in the field.

Track List
Optimizing Cell Culture Technology
Bioproduction: Scale, Bioreactors & Disposables
Continuous Processing for Biopharmaceuticals
Cell Therapy and Manufacturing

LabRoots hosted 7 speakers at BioProcessing 2019, such as keynote speaker A.C. Matin, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine and featured speaker Jon Zmuda, Ph.D., Director, Cell Biology, Life Sciences Solutions Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific, who spoke about "Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated mRNA-Based Gene Delivery for Targeted Treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer in Mice by Prodrugs - A New Gene-Delivered Enzyme Prodrug" and "Streamlining the Biologics Development Process: From Transient to Stable Production in the ExpiCHO System", respectively.

Infectious Disease - April 25, 2019

With 3 key tracks (listed below), Infectious Disease 2019 focused on bringing attention to what scientists have learned from the past, current challenges, and methods moving forward.

Track List
Stories and Lessons of the Past
Current Challenges and Controversies
Emerging Tools and Methods

LabRoots invited 9 speakers from around the world to participate, including keynote speakers Colleen Kraft, M.D., M.Sc., Associate Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine and Stephen Morse, Ph.D., FAAM, F.A.C.E., Professor of Epidemiology, Director, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Certificate, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, who spoke about "Ebola Virus Disease - 2019 and Beyond" and "The Next Pandemic", respectively.

Forensics & Toxicology - August 22, 2019

With speakers who worked on high caliber murder investigations, such as the O.J. Simpson and JonBenét Ramsey cases, the 2019 Forensics & Toxicology was a hit for the LabRoots audience. The event featured speakers with a multitude of backgrounds, to cover tracks (listed below) relating to forensics & toxicology, blending science genres such as biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine.

Track List
Forensic Science: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Current Methods of Forensic Analysis
Recent Advances in Clinical Forensic Medicine
Recent Advances in Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology

Keynote and featured speakers for this event included Henry C. Lee, Ph.D., Associate Vice President, Director of Forensic Research and Training Center, Distinguished Professor, Institute of Forensic Science Department, University of New Haven, Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health and the National Toxicology Program, and Ruth Winecker, Ph.D., F-ABFT - Senior Research Forensic Scientist, RTI International, who spoke about "New Concepts in Forensic Investigation", "Health Impacts of Environmental Chemical Exposures", and "What's New in Forensic Toxicology: Drugs and Standards Setting", respectively.

Influenza - November 6, 2019

The theme for the 2019 Influenza Virtual Conference was Influenza in the past, present and future, which gave insight into how research has developed over time in the field. The tracklist (listed below) featured subtopics such as Influenza Vaccines, Types of Influenza, Pathogenesis, and more.

Track List
Control and Prevention Strategies for Influenza
Structure and Function of the Influenza Virus
Impact of Influenza Beyond Outpatient and Inpatient Treatment
2019 Epidemic and Future Pandemics

A featured speaker at this event included Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Microbiology and Medicine, Tisch Cancer Center Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who spoke about "Toward a universal influenza virus vaccine".

2019 Notable Speakers

In 2019, LabRoots worked diligently to invite the most world-renowned experts to our Virtual Events. Here's a list of some of the most notable speakers invited to speak at LabRoots Virtual Events in 2019.

Frank McCormick, Ph.D. -Drug Discovery, Feb. 27, 2019, Professor of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Webinar Title: "Second Harmonic Generation Detection of Ras Conformational Changes and Discovery of a Novel Small-Molecule Binder"

Bill Jackson, Ph.D. - Drug Discovery, Feb. 27, 2019, Founder and Chief Scientist, Base Pair Biotechnologies
Webinar Title: "Aptamers in Drug Development: From Biomarker Discovery to Targeted Drug Delivery to Small Molecule Drug Detection"

Joshua A. Gordon, MD, Ph.D. - Neuroscience, March 13-14, 2019, Director of National Institute of Mental Health
Webinar Title: “Updates from the NIH BRAIN Initiative”

James Gnadt, Ph.D. - Neuroscience, March 13-14, 2019, Program Director, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Webinar Title (w/Karen David, Ph.D.): “NIH BRAIN Funding Opportunities: NIH BRAIN Initiative and Functional Human Neuroscience”

Karen David, Ph.D. - Neuroscience, March 13-14, 2019, Program Director, BRAIN Initiative, (National Institutes of Health) & Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience, (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Webinar Title (w/James Gnadt, Ph.D.): “NIH BRAIN Funding Opportunities: NIH BRAIN Initiative and Functional Human Neuroscience”

Dustin Sulak, D.O. - Cannabis Sciences, March 27-28, 2019, Founder and Medical Director, Integr8 Health and Co-founder of Healer.com
Webinar Title: “Cannabis for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention”

Kiana Aran, Ph.D. - Molecular Diagnostics, April 10, 2019, Co-Founder, Nanosens, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Keck Graduate Institute, Visiting Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley
Webinar Title: “CRISPR-Chip: Detection of Unamplified Target Genes via CRISPR/Cas9 Immobilized on a Graphene Biosensors”
LabRoots' Molecular Diagnostics Virtual Event was the first public presentation of Dr. Aran's novel CRISPR-Chip Technology, published in Nature Bioengineering. With this technology, people are able to search a whole genome in 15 min without doing sequencing.

George Church, Ph.D. - Genetics & Genomics, May 8-9, 2019, Professor of Genetics, Director of the Center for Computational Genetics, Harvard Medical School
Webinar Title: “Interpreting the Zero $ Genome via Base Editing, Organoids & in Situ Omics”
Dr. Church had 2 separate profile segments on 60 minutes

Michael Snyder, Ph.D. -Genetics & Genomics, May 8-9, 2019, Professor and Chair, Genetics, Director, Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine
Webinar Title: “Big Data and Health”

Henry C. Lee, Ph.D. - Forensics & Toxicology, Aug. 22, 2019, Associate Vice President, Director of Forensic Research and Training Center, Distinguished Professor, Institute of Forensic Science Department, University of New Haven
Webinar Title: “New Concepts in Forensic Investigation”
Dr. Lee is one of the world’s foremost forensic scientists and a landmark in criminal investigations, such as the O.J. Simpson and JonBenét Ramsey cases

Sergio Grinstein -Cell Biology, Sept. 26, 2019, Senior Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children and Professor of Biochemistry, University of Toronto
Webinar Title: "Phagocytosis, macropinocytosis and the innate immune response; recent advances"
Dr. Grinstein is one of the most recognized figures in live imaging/cell biology

Ernesto Diaz-Flores, Ph.D. -Cancer Research & Oncology, Oct. 9-10, 2019, Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pediatrics/Hematology at UCSF
Webinar Title: “Pairing protein profiling with drug screens uncovers an effective therapy against high risk leukemia”

Adolfo García-Sastre, Ph.D. - Influenza, Nov. 6, 2019, Professor, Departments of Microbiology and Medicine, Tisch Cancer Center Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Webinar Title: “Toward a universal influenza virus vaccine”

2019 Notable Event Topics

LabRoots takes pride in sharing the latest research and technology in the STEM fields, here are some of the highlighted topics shared during 2019's Virtual Conferences, produced by LabRoots.

Drug Discovery, Feb. 27, 2019
- Organ On A Chip
- Effective Tools for Drug Development
  - Aptamers
Neuroscience, March 13-14, 2019
- NIH BRAIN Funding Opportunities
- BRAIN Initiative Scientific Updates
Cannabis Sciences, March 27-28, 2019
- Making Cannabis Mainstream
  - Cannabis and Your Health
Molecular Diagnostics, April 10, 2019
- Disruptive Molecular Technologies
  - Advancements in Biosensors
- Kiana Aran, Ph.D. - “CRISPR-Chip: Detection of Unamplified Target Genes via CRISPR/Cas9 Immobilized on a Graphene Biosensors”
  - Published in Nature Bioengineering
Genetics & Genomics, May 8-9, 2019
- Interpreting Genome Sequence Information from Telomere to Telomere
  - What does GWAS really tell you about targets for drug discovery
- George Church, Ph.D. - “Interpreting the Zero $ Genome via Base Editing, Organoids & in Situ Omics”
Forensics & Toxicology, Aug. 22, 2019
- Forensic Science: A Multidisciplinary Approach
  - Human Health Impacts in Environmental Chemicals
CRISPR, Oct. 3, 2019
- CRISPR Biology
  - Discovery and Classification of CRISPR systems/anti-CRISPRs
Clinical Diagnostics & Research, Nov. 14, 2019
- Opioid Epidemic
- Panel on Sustainable Health and Laboratory Medicine

2019 What Users, Sponsors, & Speakers Said About LabRoots Virtual Events

User Testimonials

"The presentations I attended were excellent, and it was so convenient to be able to view them without traveling. Kudos to you and your team for creating such a successful conference!"
Daniel S., Drug Discovery 2019

"Congratulations on this virtual conference. The Medical Cannabis Industry needs a lot of education and we celebrate this type of initiative!"
Lori P., Cannabis Sciences 2019

This is such a fantastic way to include people from around the world!"
Janine M., Molecular Diagnostics 2019

"I love learning as much as I can about the subjects presented here so that I can be up to date on the information that is being gathered. Thank you so much to the organizers and presenters for this opportunity to learn!"
Keeron G., Genetics & Genomics 2019

"I think an interactive conference is a great idea to reduce carbon footprint and its fun too!"
Hille T., Lab Automation 2019

Sponsor & Speaker Testimonials

"It's a great pleasure to be back at LabRoots. It's one of my favorite concepts in pragmatic realities is the virtual seminars. It allows us to save on our environment and carbon credits, it allows us to save on time for both you and for me, and it's an efficient way of getting across some topics that wouldn't otherwise get us this broad an audience - so thanks to LabRoots for their community service."
George Church, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics, Director of the Center for Computational Genetics, Harvard Medical School

"LabRoots team are rock stars - working with your team is very streamlined, making it, from our side, very easy to work with our busy speakers like Dr Muzny. We look forward to the continued partnership!"
Chris McGowin, Scientific Affairs Manager at Roche Diagnostics Corporation

"I found the LabRoots production of my lecture to be interesting, effective and very user friendly. The team worked well with me, there were no technical snafus, and I felt well supported as I delivered the talk from my office computer. I enjoyed the international audience. All in all, an effective and professional program."
Paul Billings, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Thermo Fisher

"I had a lot of fun doing the webinar at LabRoots. The platform was very user friendly and easy to navigate. Being able to do it from home was also a nice and more comfortable change from doing in person presentations at other events. I was still able to feel the audience members were engaged in the presentation via questions sent during the presentation. This is a much more efficient way to do educational conferences for both the speaker and attendees."
Shilla Patel OD, CIC, Clinical Epidemiologist, Scripps Mercy San Diego

"I found LabRoots to be an extremely organized and professional group. Their technological platform is exceptional, and it was easy to deliver my lecture with a smashing result. Thumbs up!"
James Januzzi, MD; Director Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

2019 Scholarship Winners

LabRoots hosted 2 STEM scholarship campaigns in 2019. The scholarship funded undergraduate or graduate students for one year, providing $3,000 in direct costs, per scholarship.

Kathryn Waite
SPRING 2019 LABROOTS SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
“Hopes are high that I-with deep South sensibility, female-of-color perspective, STEM aptitude, and pharmaceutical sciences aspiration-collaboratively blend with fellow students in a fresh and impactful way that advances schools of thought in the fields of science and health and service.”
For the complete blog post, click here.

Lana Salloum
FALL 2019 LABROOTS SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
“I am extremely grateful to everyone at LabRoots for this award. It is generous people like this that remind me why I have decided to go into healthcare.”
For the complete blog post, click here.

2019 Awards

LabRoots was proud to take home multiple company awards (listed below) in 2019. LabRoots strives to bring the best experience possible to users and employees and we're grateful to have been considered for these achievements.

American Business Awards (Stevies)
- Gold Stevie Award for Company of the Year in Media & Entertainment
- Bronze Stevie Award for Collaboration & Social Networking Solution
Entrepreneur 360™ List
Best in Biz
- Gold for Consumer Service of the Year

2019 Top Trending News

In addition to the webinars and Virtual Events produced by LabRoots, it is also important for LabRoots to share the latest in Trending News in science. Here are some of the top articles of 2019.