New Matter: Inside the Minds of SLAS Scientists
The official Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) podcast explores advances in automation, cellular imaging, big data and what's coming in the spaces between traditional scientific disciplines. Guests often include members of SLAS along with innovators, leading experts and other members of the global scientific community to highlight technology and even career stories. Episodes are released every week and subscribe to New Matter - available on all podcast players.
New Matter: Inside the Minds of SLAS Scientists
2025 SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant Recipient | Vasu Rao, MS, PhD Candidate
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
New Matter host Emily Yamasaki, PhD, speaks with Vasumitra “Vasu” Rao, MS, PhD candidate–recipient of the 2025 SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant–about his innovative research at the Jensen Lab (University of Michigan).
Vasu’s work focuses on AI-driven characterization of non-model oral bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus mutans), aiming to predict microbial growth dynamics and biofilm formation using neural ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and automated high-throughput experiments. His research bridges gaps in microbiology by studying under-explored organisms beyond traditional models, such as E. coli. Potential applications include understanding cavity formation, drug discovery, and pharmacodynamics modeling.
He shares his unconventional path into AI/microbiology (inspired by chess and reinforcement learning), and discusses how the SLAS grant supports his exploratory research.
About the SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant:
This SLAS grant facilitates educational opportunities for outstanding students pursuing graduate degrees related to life sciences R&D. This program helps to realize a fundamental tenet of SLAS’s mission: to advance the fields of laboratory science and technology by nurturing the next generation of professional scientists.
SLAS will award one grant (up to $50,000) per year, for a maximum of two years, to qualified educational institutions on behalf of deserving students enrolled in a graduate program at that institution.
2026 application submissions are now being accepted!
Learn More
Stay connected with SLAS
About SLAS
SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international professional society of academic, indus
Upcoming Events:
SLAS Europe 2026 Conference and Exhibition (19-21 May 2026 | Vienna, Austria)
SLAS Meet-Ups
- Basel, Switzerland (30 April 2026)
- Chicago, Illinois (June 18, 2026)
- Leiden, Netherlands (10 September 2026)
- Tübingen, Germany (20 October 2026)
SLAS 2026 Sample Management Symposium (October 21-22, 2026 | South San Francisco, California)
SLAS2027 International Conference & Exhibition (January 30 - February 3, 2027 | San Diego, California)
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
SLAS Technology Authors Talk Tech
Dave Pechter, M.S.M.E.