Lab Technology & Automation

State-of-the-art technology and advanced automation lie at the heart of the high-throughput genotyping workflow, an enterprise that sees the DKMS Life Science Lab receive, prepare, analyze and genotype around 25,000 samples every week. The Lab Technology & Automation team plays a critical role that ranges from installation and maintenance of equipment, ensuring smooth functioning, and adherence to standards. The team also programs and teaches the robots involved at various stages in the highly complex workflow alongside aiding programming, extension, and optimization of data interfaces.

A flagship project of the Lab Technology and Automation team has been the first of its kind development of a robot to process donor swabs automatically. The team has been intimately involved in its design, implementation, and execution. Downstream of the swab processing, several pipetting robots involved in large-scale sample processing are the responsibility of the team. Myriad resulting data sources and interfaces, which integrate with the laboratory information management system (LIMS), are also overseen by the Technology & Automation team, also aiding in ensuring maintenance of the highest quality standards. The team leverages thermosensors, cameras, and the like to track processes down to the tiniest detail ensuring seamless integration with the LIMS to ensure stable workflows that adhere to standards and regulations. Deviations, failures, and subsequent corrective measures and processes are also the responsibility of the team.

Additionally, the Lab Technology & Automation team is involved in large-scale projects such as the Collaborative BioBank (CoBi), or the urgent need-based rapid-response SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing that aided the health authorities during the initial stages of the CoViD pandemic.

Projects

The highly innovative drive of the DKMS Life Science Lab condenses in our team. We manage or support all projects around the technical steps of our workflows. This includes large-scale ventures such as the Collaborative Biobank, the world’s first establishment of a swab-based CMV typing workflow, or the quick implementation of SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing in our lab to support the imminent needs of our health care system.