• 17.00-19.00 – GRAND BALLROOM A

OPENING CEREMONY & OPENING LECTURE

Global Impact of Tuberculosis with a Particular Emphasis on Diagnostic Tools

Soumya Swaminathan, India

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM A

IFCC SYMPOSIUM 1 

Advancing Lab Medicine through Ethics: Safeguarding Scientific Integrity, Big Data, and Patient-Centered Care

Chairs: Tomris Ozben (Türkiye), Joe Wiencek (USA)

Ethical Foundations and Scientific Integrity in Laboratory Medicine – Joe Wiencek, USA

Ensuring Data Privacy is the Era of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence – Sudip Datta, India

Direct-to-Consumer Testing: Benefits and Concerns of Commercially Accessed Laboratory Tests – Matthias Orth, Germany

Advancing Patient Blood Management: Ethical Issues and Innovations – Angela Amayo, Kenya

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM B

SYMPOSIUM 1 

Mass Spectrometry and Automation: The Next Frontier in Clinical Laboratories

Chairs: Barnali Das (India), Marie Lenski (France)

Automation and Mass Spectrometry: The Next Revolution in Clinical Laboratories – Pieter Vermeersh, Belgium

Mass Spectrometry Assay Development in Advanced Diagnostics – Akhilesh Pandey, USA

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Metabolomics: From Bench to Bedside – Marie Lenski, France

A Novel LC-MS/MS-based multiplexed assay for Lysosomal Storage Disorders: Its Clinical utility in Diagnosis and Therapeutic monitoring – Anikha Bellad, India

Omega-3-derived furan fatty acid exposure is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk-associated ceramide species in experimental metabolic disease and fish oil-treated patients – Matias Vazquez, Argentina

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM C

SYMPOSIUM 2

Thyroid Diagnostics Redefined: The State-of-the-Art in Function Testing

Chairs: Petra Petranović Ovčariček (Croatia), Damien Gruson (Belgium)

From Clinical Needs to Guidelines – Petra Petranović Ovčariček, Croatia

How to Deal with Discordant Thyroid Function Tests – Krishna Chatterjee, UK

Emerging Technologies to Close Diagnostic Gaps in Thyroid Function Testing – Damien Gruson, Belgium

Assessing the impact of pro-gastrin releasing peptide (ProGRP) as a biomarker in the follow up of patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma – Alex Barragán Muñoz, Spain

 

• 09.00-11.00 – ROOM B101A

SYMPOSIUM 3

Reproductive Laboratory Medicine

Chairs: Giuseppe Novelli (Italy), Zhen Zhao (USA)

Reproductive genetics: from cytogenetics to cytogenomics – Giuseppe Novelli, Italy

Advances in NIPT – from trisomies to monogenic diseases – Madhuri Hegde, USA

Preimplantation genetic testing – Valerio Pisaturo, Italy

Preclampsia – Zhen Zhao, USA

 

• 11.30-12.30 – GRAND BALLROOM A
  

PLENARY LECTURE 1

Utility of cell free DNA in cancer diagnosis

Allen Chan, Hong Kong, China

 

• 12.30-14.30 – GRAND BALLROOM B
  

WASPALM SYMPOSIUM

Perspectives in Laboratory Medicine

Chairs: Roberto Verna (Italy), Tahir Pillay (South Africa)

AI and synthetic data as a new research and educational resource for laboratory medicine – Tahir Pillay, South Africa

Integrated Laboratory Medicine in the Digital Era: Harmonisation, Interoperability and Dustributed Expertise – Elisabetta Stenner, Italy

Laboratory Medicine in Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Autoimmune Disorders: Baseline Assessment, Diagnostic Algorithms, Monitoring, and Predictive Biomarkers – Roberto Verna, Italy

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM A

IFCC SYMPOSIUM 2

Method Evaluation in Clinical Laboratories: Challenges and Opportunities

Chairs: Rosita Zakaria (Australia), TBD

Method Evaluation: A Practical Overview – Rosita Zakaria, Australia

Is Statistical Significance Sufficient? A Critical Perspective on Method Evaluation in Clinical Laboratories – Hamit Hakan Alp, Türkiye

Total Error versus Measurement Uncertainty in Method Evaluation – Mai Tran, Vietnam

Practical Method Evaluation; Method Validation for LC-MS/MS Techniques – Mark De Hora, New Zealand

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM B

COLABIOCLI SYMPOSIUM

Clinical Laboratory and Primary Health Care in Infectious Diseases: Experiences and Prevention Strategies in Latin America

Chairs: Gloria Y. Saucedo (Panama), Ana Sofía Duarte (Guatemala)

The role of the public clinical laboratory in surveillance of infectious diseases. – Gloria Y. Saucedo, Panama

Community-based prevention of zoonoses: Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis – Cristian Rivilla, Ecuador

Pediatric respiratory infections and malnutrition: an interdisciplinary approach. – Ana Sofía Duarte, Guatemala

University clinical laboratory responses during COVID-19 – Francisco Josué Carrillo Ballesteros, Mexico

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM C

APFCB SYMPOSIUM 1 

Why newborn screening isn’t just a lab test

Chairs: Dianne Webster (New Zealand), Natasha Heather (New Zealand)

Newborn screening system and pathway (including but also beyond the laboratory) – Dianne Webster, New Zealand

Preanalytical factors influencing result quality – Chloe Mak, Hong Kong, China

Measurements in hours: newborn biochemistry is not typical biochemistry or retitle Importance of neonatal physiology in reference ranges/cutoffs for newborn babies

– Ashleigh Brown, New Zealand

Considerations for starting screening and adding new disorders – Santosh Pradhan, Nepal

 

• 14.30-16.30 – ROOM B101A

SYMPOSIUM 4

Advancing Mental Health and Neurological Care through Neurochemical Insights

Chairs: Pradeep K. Dabla (India), Sylvain Lehmann (France)

Neurochemical Insight and Management of Neurodegenerative Diseases – Sylvain Lehmann, France

Neurochemical Precision Medicine: Tailoring Diagnostics for Epileptic Disorders – Pradeep K. Dabla, India

From Fly Brains to Human Minds: Translating Neurochemical Discoveries into Precision Mental Health Therapies – Mohammad Farhan, Qatar

Association of serum level of cortisol, IL-6, dopamine and serotonin with cognitive function in people living with haemophilia – Prabhat Kaushal, India

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM A

IFCC SYMPOSIUM 3

Laboratory Management Training: Global Insights, Future Directions, and Innovative Strategies

Chairs: Praveen Sharma (India), Chuanxin Wang (China)

Global Lab Management Training Survey: Current State and Future Directions – Annalise Zemlin, South Africa

Leadership Development in Laboratory Management: From Trainee to Lab Manager – Prasenjit Mitra, India

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Lab Management Training: Opportunities and Challenges – Mahesheema Ali

Enhancing Lab Management Training: Strategies for Improvement – Praveen Sharma, India

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM B

ACBI SYMPOSIUM 1

Cancer Biology from Laboratory to the Clinic

Chairs: Subrata Sinha (India), Shyam S. Chauhan (India)

Unravelling a novel oncogene in glioma – Subrata Sinha, India

Cysteine Cathepsins as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets in Leukemia – Shyam S. Chauhan, India

Liquid biopsy in Oral Cancer: A future for precision medicine and personalized management – Arnab Pal, India

Multiomics in Cancer Clinics: The way forward – Anurag Mehta, India

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM C

SYMPOSIUM 5

The Changing Landscape for Acute Kidney Injury & Chronic Kidney Disease

Chairs: Joris Delanghe (Belgium), Graham Jones (Australia)

Kidney Function Testing for Drug Dosing Decisions – Graham Jones, Australia

The Harmonization Hurdle: Uncovering Analytical and Reporting Variances in Kidney Disease Testing – Rajeevan Selvaratnam, Canada

Urinary flow cytometric data as an easily accessible biomarker for diagnosing AKI – Joris Delanghe, Belgium

Human kidney organoids reveal clinically relevant mechanisms of ischemia–reperfusion injury in transplantation – Iwona Bil-Lula, Poland

 

• 09.00-11.00 – ROOM B101A

SYMPOSIUM 6

Liquid Biopsy: Early Detection of Cancer and Minimal Residual Disease

Chairs: Catherine Alix-Panabières (France), Klaus Pantel (Germany)

Liquid Biopsy: From Discovery to Clinical Application – Catherine Alix-Panabières, France

Liquid Biopsy in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection: A Public Health Perspective – Sudhir Srivastava, USA

European consortia on early detection of cancer and minimal residual disease – Klaus Pantel, Germany

Multimodal MRI contrast agent for integrated tumour imaging and liquid biopsy via cfDNA capture in precision oncology – Dongdong Liu, China

HER2 expression patterns on liquid biopsy across multiple cancer types: a real world case series from a tertiary referral hospital – Laura Valiña Amado, Spain

 

• 11.30-12.30 – GRAND BALLROOM A

 PLENARY LECTURE 2

Developing Communities that Eliminate Heart Disease in Our Lifetimes

Jagat Narula, USA

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM A

NAFCC SYMPOSIUM 

Contemporary Topics in Clinical Testing for Women and Children

Chairs: Shannon Haymond (USA), Paul Yip (Canada)

How a Randomized Controlled Trial on Optimizing the Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction/Injury in Women (CODE-MI) has also Optimized Troponin Analytics – Peter Kavsak, Canada

Improving the Diagnostic Accuracy for Preeclampsia with Novel Biomarkers – Paul Yip, Canada

An Update on the Status of Neonatal Bilirubin Measurement – Stanley Lo, USA

Deploying AI Approaches to Automate Critical Steps in Genomic Testing Workflows – Shannon Haymond, USA

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM B

SYMPOSIUM 7

Antimicrobial Resistance: Innovations and Integrated Approaches

Chairs: Swarup Shah (India), Jan Verbakel (Belgium)

One Health and Antimicrobial Resistance: A Clinical Microbiology Perspective – Benoit Pilmis, France

CRISPR Technologies: A New Frontier Against Antimicrobial Resistance? – Swarup Shah, India

Point-of-Care Testing and New Biomarkers: What Can We Expect in AMR Diagnostics? – Jan Verbakel, Belgium

Molecular Characterization of Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Urinary Tract Infections- At a Tertiary Healthcare Centre of North India – Sunil Kumar Saroj, India

Antimicrobial Resistance in Palestine: Emerging Hotspots and Trends from a Four-Year Hospital-Based Study – Rana Khanafsa, Palestine

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM C

SYMPOSIUM 8

Prevalence and management of Diabetes

Chairs: Sergio Bernardini, TBD

Prevalence, aetiology, and management of diabetes – Nikhil Tandon, India

New biochemical parameters, continuous glucose monitoring the role of AI in diabete management – Leslie Lai, Malaysia

Biotechnology perspectives in Diabetes Diagnosis and monitoring – Luo Yang, China

Targeted amino acid metabolomic profiling in type II diabetes mellitus: identification of early diagnostic biomarkers using tandem mass spectrometry analysis – Neelam Patil, India

The cumulative burden: how micronutrient imbalance, inflammation and oxidative stress fuel diabetic neuropathy – Deepy Zohmangaihi, India

 

• 14.30-16.30 – ROOM B101A

SYMPOSIUM 9

Biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease

Chairs: Alicia Algeciras-Schimnich (USA), Henrik Zetterberg (Sweden)

Alzheimer’s disease CSF biomarkers – Alicia Algeciras-Schimnich, USA

Alzheimer’s disease blood biomarkers – Henrik Zettenberg, Sweden

Influence of comorbidities and copathologies on Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers interpretation – Alessandro Martorana, Italy

Association Of Biochemical, Inflammatory & Genetic Markers as a Risk Factor of Alzheimer’s Disease – Rachna Agarwal, India

Integrated Bioinformatics Approach to Identify miRNA-based Blood Biomarkers and Differentially Expressed Genes at the Neuromuscular Junction in Sarcopenia and Alzheimer’s Disease – Kusuma K S, India

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM A

IFCC SYMPOSIUM 4

IFCC’s innovative communication strategies

Chairs: Harjit Pal Bhattoa (Hungary), Maurizio Ferrari (Italy)

Advancing scientific research via the IFCC Electronic Journal (eJIFCC) – Kannan Vaidyanathan, India

Unique role of the internet and digital communication in Laboratory Medicine – Deniz Topcu, Türkiye

Global Med Lab Week and its importance in Laboratory Medicine – Maria del Carmen Pasquel Moxley, Ecuador

Communication as a beacon to disseminate knowledge in Laboratory Medicine – Qing Meng, USA

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM B

ACBI SYMPOSIUM 2

Common clinical scenarios in India – A Biochemist’s perspective

Chairs: Seema Bhargava (India), Rajiv Sinha (India)

Indian perspective of Acute Kidney Injury: KIDGO 2012 or AACC 2020? Implementation of E alerts & in search of newer Biomarkers – Barnali Das, India

Drug Induced Liver Injury due to Anti Tubercular therapy – DILI-ATT: Demographic and Lab correlates – Mithu Banerjee, India

Navigating through the International Consensus on ANA (ICAP): AC 2,4,5&29 patterns in a subset of Indian population – Mala Mahto, India

Targetted Management of Immune Mediated Allergies – Specificity is the key – Seema Bhargava, India

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM C

SYMPOSIUM 10

Protein electrophoresis reporting – current status and possible improvements

Chairs: Nilika Wijeratne (Australia), Chaochao Ma (China)

Clinical Guidelines and Reporting Practices: What Clinicians Need from Protein Electrophoresis – Nilika Wijeratne, Australia

Protein electrophoresis reporting: laboratory guidelines and Lessons from regional audit – Pavai Sthaneswar, Malaysia

Establishing Reliable Reference Intervals for Serum Protein Electrophoresis Parameters: Role of Indirect Sampling and Implications for Electrophoresis Reporting – Chaochao Ma, China

Evaluation of Daratumumab Interference in Serum Paraprotein Testing Using liquid chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and Correlation with serum protein electrophoresis Migration Patterns – Deepalakshmi Putchen, India

From Radiological Haemangioma to a Probable Solitary Skull Plasmacytoma: Diagnostic Redirection through Laboratory Evaluation: A case report – Thilini Premadasa, Sri Lanka

 

• 09.00-11.00 – ROOM B101A

AFCB SYMPOSIUM 

Lipid Disorders and Cardiovascular Risk

Chairs: Christian Haddad (Lebanon), Anwar Borai (Saudi Arabia)

The molecular basis of familial hypercholesterolemia – Marianne Abifadel, Lebanon

Personalized Secondary Prevention in Acute Coronary Syndromes: From Genetics to Clinical Practice – Asma Omezzine, Tunisia

Impact of SLCO1B1 c.521T>C Polymorphism and Non-Genetic Factors on Statin-Associated Myopathy Risk in Middle Eastern Patient – Lama Youssef, Syria

Lipoprotein(a): The Latest on Testing and Guideline Recommendations – Shereen Atef, UAE

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM A

PLENARY LECTURE 3

The rise of Metrology for Bioanalysis in Healthcare

Jim Huggett, UK

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM A

APFCB SYMPOSIUM 2

Heavy Metals in Modern Medicine: Diagnostics for a Toxic World

Chairs: Vivek Pant (Nepal), Thupil Venkatesh (India)

Optimizing Laboratory Diagnosis of Lead Poisoning: From Detection to Monitoring – Vivek Pant, Nepal

Application of GFAAS for Blood Lead Quantification: Method Development and Public Health Insights from Vietnam – Mai Thi Chi Tran, Vietnam

Molecular aspect of heavy metal toxicity – Rajat Sandhir, India

Influence of Essential Trace Elements on Glycemic Biomarkers in Toxic Metal-Induced Diabetes – Reena Rani, India

Challenges and Lack of Harmonization in Microplastic Detection: A Critical Review – Bhadra Jayeeta, India

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM B

SYMPOSIUM 11

Transformational Leadership in Clinical Laboratories: Strategies for Success

Chairs: Sedef Yenice (Türkiye), TBD

Laboratory Leadership in Changing Healthcare Landscape – Lucy Perrone, Canada

Digital Transformation as a Catalyst for Laboratory Leadership: From Connectivity to Intelligence – Sedef Yenice, Türkiye

Quality, Compliance, and Innovation: Harmonizing Standards and Strategy through Leadership – Sohini Sengupta, India

Transformational Laboratory Leadership in Oncology: Building a Risk-Based Quality Culture Through ISO 15189:2022, Quality Indicators and Staff Competency in a Tertiary Cancer Center – Aditi Gupta, India

Application of AI-Embedded Laboratory Decision System to Improve Reimbursement of Laboratory Investigations – Rojeet Shrestha, USA

 

• 14.30-16.30 – GRAND BALLROOM C

SYMPOSIUM 12

The Future-Ready Lab: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Security and System Resilience

Chairs: Prasenjit Mitra (India), Ian Godber (UK)

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Laboratory Medicine – Hikmet Can Çubukçu, Türkiye

Securing the Chain: The role of Blockchain in Laboratory Data Management – Shruti Gupta, India

Resilient laboratory digital system design: preparing for the unexpected – Ian Godber, UK

An Early Screening Risk Assessment Model for Coronary Heart Disease Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Pulse Diagnosis and Machine Learning – Yuehua Yuan, China

Wartime Preparedness of Laboratory and Blood Bank Services During Armed Conflicts: A Case Study from a University Hospital – Christian Al Haddad, Lebanon

 

• 14.30-16.30 – ROOM B101A

SYMPOSIUM 13

Cybersecurity

Chairs: Christian Haddad (Lebanon), Anwar Borai (Saudi Arabia)

Healthcare and Laboratory Cybersecurity – James Donnelly, USA

Operational Resilience in Clinical Laboratories: Lessons learned from a Cyberattack at a University Medical Center – Peter Finianos, Lebanon

Open Source as a Catalyst for Next-Generation Medical AI – Bernard Gouget, France

Fortifying Our Digital Defenses: Cybersecurity Challenges in Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) – Omar Al Hazza, Saudi Arabia

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM A

IFCC SYMPOSIUM 5

The role of Bone status indices in investigation and management of metabolic bone diseases

Chairs: Samuel Vasikaran (Australia), Aylin Sepici Dinçel (Türkiye)

Why and how should we test biochemical markers of bone turnover in 2026 – Harjit Bhattoa, Hungary

Measurement and reporting of bone specific alkaline phosphatase in CKD associated osteoporosis, integrating Sclerostin – Aylin Sepici Dinçel, Türkiye

From D Deficiency to Resilience: Bone Health Strategies in the Asian Context – Busadee Pratumvinit, Thailand

Molecular markers of bone metabolism; the role of micro RNA in bone metabolism and its investigation – Giovanni Lombardi, Italy

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM B

AFCC SYMPOSIUM 

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Challenges and Prospects

Chairs: Adekunle Bashiru Okesina (Nigeria), Vanessa Steenkamp (South Africa)

Barriers to the provision of TDM services – Adekunle Bashiru Okesina, Nigeria

Benefits and justification of TDM – Hilary Lumano, Zambia

Stepwise implementation of TDM – Vanessa Steenkamp, South Africa

Sustainability of TDM – Gizachew Taddesse Akalu, Ethiopia

 

• 09.00-11.00 – GRAND BALLROOM C

EFLM  SYMPOSIUM 

Integrative Diagnostics in Modern Laboratory Medicine: From Data to Coordinated Clinical Decisions

Chairs: Jochen Lennerz (USA), Tomas Zima (Czech Republic)

Integrative Diagnostics in Real Clinical Pathways: Aligning Laboratory, Pathology and Care Teams for Better Decisions – Norman Zerbe, Germany

From Laboratory Data to High-Value Diagnostic Information: Foundations of Integrative Diagnostics – Mario Plebani, Italy

Breaking Silos: Multimodal Diagnostics as a Driver of Coordinated Patient Pathway – Michael Neumaier, Germany

Competencies for Laboratory Professionals in the Era of Integrative Diagnostics and Digital Care – Tomas Zima, Czech Republic

 

• 09.00-11.00 – ROOM B101A

SYMPOSIUM 14

Traceability and Patient risk

Chairs: Tony Badrick (Australia), Anja Kessler (Germany)

Implemention of Metrology in Diabetes Care: Ensuring Patient Safety Through Measurement Excellence – Anja Kessler (Germany)

Perspective from accreditation body – importance of metrological traceability for accreditation of medical testing laboratories in India – Venkatesh Thuppil, India

Chemical Metrology in Cardiovascular Care: on the way to Precision Diagnostics and more Effective Treatments – Christa Cobbaert, the Netherlands

Recombinant ternary troponin complex GBW09336 – a new reference material for human cardiac troponin – Ivan Katrukha, Russia

 

• 11.30-12.30 – GRAND BALLROOM A

PLENARY LECTURE 4 

Total Lab Automation and Application of AI are the future for Rational, Integrated and Economic Patient Care

Ivan Brandslund, Denmark