Project management is evolving rapidly with the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), transforming how we plan, execute, and monitor projects. AI can enhance decision-making by analyzing vast amounts of data, identifying patterns, and predicting risks, allowing project managers to allocate resources more effectively and optimize timelines. This presentation will explore the key benefits of AI in project management, current trends, and how organizations can harness these innovations to improve efficiency, mitigate risks, and drive successful outcomes.

Sven Neumeyer will provide insights into enhancing the impact of a User Experience (UX) team in a product-centered scientific research organization at Novartis. He will outline a strategic playbook based on three fundamental principles: 1. organizational design, 2. the establishment of a framework, and 3. capability building. The presentation will showcase how the UX team not only improved their own skills but also empowered the broader research informatics organization. Join us to understand how to actualize the potential of a UX team and foster a collaborative and effective UX culture within any given product team in a scientific research environment.

In the era of digital transformation, pharmaceutical organizations must equip their non-digital workforce with essential skills to leverage digital and software tools. This talk will discuss the role of software-based learning platforms, digital training resources, and customized software solutions offered through Novo Nordisk’s Digital Science Academy. Explore challenges, successes, and strategies in fostering a digitally savvy workforce that can drive innovation and support software-driven initiatives.

In an industry where cutting edge scientific technologies, models, or frameworks are being released very frequently, there is an ever growing need to materialize innovative ideas into tangible end-to-end solutions for scientists, data scientists, or even executive leadership. Application development remains a strong cornerstone because of this, however, a development pipeline that allows for rapid prototyping, quick pivoting and effective stakeholder management is essential to guarantee the longevity of software apps even more so in this new age of data science solutions.

DashboardCentral and AssayCentral are in-house web tools developed for AbbVie scientists, providing a centralized hub for accessing internal preclinical data. They simplify data access with intuitive interfaces that enable efficient querying and interactive visualizations. DashboardCentral offers streamlined access to dashboards with data from Abbvie preclinical datamart, while AssayCentral facilitates the creation of standardized assay reports for project teams. Together, they enhance data presentation and accessibility across projects and enhance research outcomes for Discovery Scientists.

The renewed focus on making data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) requires researchers to invest time and effort in describing, storing and appropriately sharing data products. This is often administrative overhead at the end of a project and results in less than FAIR data. We will describe how this overhead can be substantially reduced or eliminated by using data portal technology and services developed by Globus that allow data to be described and shared as an integral part of the research workflow, thereby making the data FAIR by default.

As AI reshapes software development, it accelerates the creation of powerful tools and insights, propelling innovation in life sciences. This session delves into how AI-driven approaches—like large language models, automated data analytics, and machine learning pipelines—are advancing software engineering. We’ll explore how these advancements enable faster iteration cycles, streamlined data integration, and tailored solutions, transforming complex biomedical challenges into actionable breakthroughs. Join us for a series of lightning talks highlighting cutting-edge uses of AI that empower researchers and developers to build and iterate at unprecedented speed, setting a new standard for software in biology.

As the world's largest publicly available repository of raw sequence data, the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) plays a pivotal role in advancing public health and life sciences research. This presentation highlights state-of-the-art tools and strategies for managing and analyzing the SRA’s massive datasets, showcasing its impact on infectious disease surveillance, genomic epidemiology, and precision medicine. Discover how innovative informatics solutions are transforming raw data into actionable insights for global health challenges.

With AI taking center stage in coding, research teams are leveraging AI-enabled IDEs to refactor legacy systems into modern, efficient languages. This talk presents a balanced view of generative AI-supported coding, cutting through the hype to focus on real-world applications. Discover practical strategies and examples of how AI is transforming outdated research systems into scalable, maintainable, and future-ready platforms for life sciences.

Since 2010, “Trends from the Trenches” has been a cornerstone of the Bio-IT program, delivering candid and occasionally blunt assessments of the most impactful and overhyped IT technologies in life sciences. This talk will provide a deep dive into computing, storage, cloud, data science, machine learning, and more, with a focus on supporting data-intensive science. Looking ahead, this talk will share forward-thinking predictions about emerging technologies and trends poised to shape the future of life sciences innovation, offering actionable insights for navigating the next wave of IT evolution.