South San Francisco Antibody Workshop

Tracy Zhao
Associate Field Application Manager
ACROBiosystems

Speaker Bio:

Tracy Zhao is the Associate Field Application Manager for ACROBiosystems. With 3+ years as a PerkinElmer Staff Scientist, she drove end-to-end development of IVD immunoassays and diagnostic kits from feasibility through verification.

At ACROBiosystems, Tracy is working with leaders in both industry and academia to support their research needs. Tracy leads field application support for key accounts, translating complex experimental needs into practical, data-backed solutions. She specializes in assay design and troubleshooting across TR-FRET, ELISA, and SPR/BLI workflows, and is fluent in QC interpretation (SEC-MALS, SDS-PAGE, CoAs). Partnering closely with Sales, PD, and QC teams, she drives customer training, method transfer, and product adoption.

Talk Title:

TR-FRET platform introduction

Talk Abstract:

Time-Resolved Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET) couples the distance-dependent energy transfer of FRET with delayed fluorescence detection to suppress autofluorescence and scattered light, enabling sensitive, mix-and-measure assays ideal for high-throughput workflows. In this talk, we will outline practical design rules for TR-FRET assay development, we will then introduce ACROBiosystems’ TR-FRET technology platform, which integrates ready-to-run kits, universal toolkit components, and custom development services to rapidly translate targets into robust quantitative assays. Case studies will be highlighting how TR-FRET streamlines screening, hit confirmation, and mechanism-of-action studies while maintaining compatibility with automation and diverse sample matrices.

Eason Lin
Senior Scientist
Aureka Biotechnologies

Speaker Bio:

Eason (Yu-sheng) Lin is currently a senior scientist leading the high-throughput assay development team and was trained as an immunologist and systems biologist. His experience in cell therapy product development and analytical development has fueled his interest in incorporating cell-based functional assays during the early screening and development phases of therapeutic products. At Aureka Biotechnologies, he is involved in developing a first-in-class platform that integrates microfluidics-based high-throughput single-cell functional screening with AI-driven de novo protein design. Eason is dedicated to accelerating antibody discovery and engineering to make therapeutic biologics more accessible and effective.

Talk Title:

Leveraging AI and high-throughput functional screening to discover life-saving medicines with unprecedented efficiency

Talk Abstract:

Functional biologics, such as bispecific and multifunctional antibody-drug conjugates, have become focal points in next-generation therapeutic development. Although essential, the lengthy discovery phase and multiple de-risking stages in affinity, functional binding, and developability often become bottleneck of therapeutic development and getting life-saving medicines to the patients. Here, we present a validated end-to-end solution that can greatly enhance the efficiency for antibody therapeutic development, via Aureka Biotechnologies’ AI-driven de novo design solution, AuraPicasso, high-throughput single-cell functional screening pipeline, AuraGlow, along with our hypermutation evolution platform, AuraQuest. This solution accelerates the discovery of bispecific and multifunctional antibodies for complex targeting scenarios while reducing the risk of functionally incompatible candidates in the early screening process. Together with the partnered therapeutic and pharmaceutical companies, we will accelerate antibody therapeutic development toward necessary treatment options for the patients

Roger Wong
Senior Director Business Development
Curia Biologics

Speaker Bio:

Roger received his PhD in Biochemsitry from Berkeley and MBA from University of Florida. He has been a faculty, entrepreneur, scientist and business executive in biotech.

Talk Title:

Rapid Discovery of Antagonistic Human/Cyno CD200R1 Llama VHH Nanobodies Using Single B Cell Technology

Talk Abstract:

Nanobodies are a growing modality in antibody therapeutics, with FDA-approved treatments driving demand for VHH discovery. Their small size and typically longer CDR3 enables targeting challenging epitopes in solid tumors, overcoming limitations of larger antibodies. Here we used single B cell antibody discovery to rapidly identify a diverse set of potent, high affinity, neutralizing VHH from immunized llamas against CD200R1, an emerging therapeutic immune checkpoint target.

Libin Cui
Founder and CEO
Akeagen, Inc.

Speaker Bio:

Libin Cui, PhD, is founder and CEO of Akeagen, Inc. a biotech company focusing on single domain antibody discovery platform technologies and therapeutic single domain antibody discovery and development. Dr. Cui is the inventor of the CaMouse single domain antibody discovery platform, the first genetically modified mouse that generates heavy chain only antibody using mouse endogenous immunoglobulin heavy chain locus. Prior to founding Akeagen in 2015, Dr. Cui was Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, and Assistant Professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Libin Cui completed his postdoc training at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Cui received his B.S. in Genetics from Nankai University and his PhD degree in Molecular Genetics from Beijing Institute of Biotechnology.

Talk Title:

Unlocking Nanobody Discovery: Platforms, Tools, and Applications

Talk Abstract:

Nanobodies, or single-domain antibodies, represent one of the most exciting advances in antibody engineering over the past three decades. Since their discovery in camelids, nanobodies have become powerful tools for both research and therapeutic applications due to their small size, stability, and ability to access epitopes inaccessible to conventional antibodies. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the history of nanobodies, tracing their path from a scientific curiosity to a validated therapeutic modality, including the first FDA-approved nanobody drug. I will then discuss the current status of nanobody platforms, highlighting innovations in transgenic animal models, display technologies, and engineering strategies driving the next generation of nanobody therapeutics.

Looking forward, I will explore the future directions of nanobody research and application, including opportunities in oncology, immunology, and diagnostics. I will also share insights into nanobody discovery at Akeagen, focusing on our CaMouse® platform and our experience with the Gator Bio biolayer interferometry (BLI) system, which has proven valuable in screening and characterizing nanobody binders. Together, these perspectives provide a roadmap of where nanobody science has been, where it stands today, and where it is headed.

Margaret Tang
Senior Scientist in Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE)
Alector, Inc.

Speaker Bio:

Margaret received her MS in Chemistry from UC San Diego. For the last 10+ years, she has focused her career on designing and developing methods to characterize molecular interactions using multiple binding assays, including surface plasmon resonance (SPR), biolayer interferometry (BLI), kinetic exclusion assay (KinExA), and flow cytometry (FACS). She is currently a Senior Scientist at Alector and has been with the company for over 5 years. She's excited to present at this scientific forum and continue to learn more about recent developments in the field from fellow BLI scientists, both new and seasoned!

Talk Title:

Gator BLI: A Vital Tool for Advancing Antibody Discovery and Engineering

Talk Abstract:

At Alector, the Gator BLI (Biolayer Interferometry) serves as a vital tool in driving the discovery and engineering of therapeutic antibodies for treating neurodegenerative diseases. This presentation will outline our antibody discovery and engineering workflow, highlighting three different applications of Gator BLI: QC of reagents, determining kinetic rate constants and binding affinity, and evaluating the binding of competing molecules. Additionally, it will showcase the unique advantages and reliability of Gator BLI, and how it helps advance our research and development efforts.

Sriram Kumaraswamy
Vice President, Product Management and Marketing
Gator Bio

Speaker Bio:

Sriram Kumaraswamy is Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Gator Bio, where he leads global strategy for advancing next-generation label-free analysis platforms. With over 25 years of experience in the life sciences tools industry, Sriram has played a key role in commercializing innovative biosensing technologies, including bio-layer interferometry (BLI), across applications in drug discovery, bioprocessing, and analytical development.

Prior to joining Gator Bio, Sriram held senior leadership roles at Danaher, Sartorius, Nicoya Lifesciences, and ForteBio, where he helped drive market adoption of label-free platforms through customer-centric product development and strategic marketing.

Sriram holds a background in chemistry and brings a deep understanding of both scientific workflows and the evolving needs of biopharma researchers. He is passionate about making advanced analytical technologies more accessible, scalable, and impactful across the drug development pipeline.

Talk Title:

Enabling Innovation in Biopharma R&D: Advances in BLI Instrumentation, Sensors, and Assays

Indrani Chakraborty
M.S Manager of Applications
Gator Bio

Speaker Bio:

Indrani Chakraborty, M.S., brings over two decades of invaluable industry experience in the field of label-free assay development to her role at Gator Bio. Throughout her career, Indrani has consistently demonstrated her expertise in driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of label-free assay technology. Her deep understanding of assay development methodologies, coupled with her adeptness in managing complex scientific projects, has been instrumental in spearheading numerous successful initiatives.

Currently, with a dynamic team of scientists at Gator Bio, Indrani oversees a broad spectrum of activities ranging from new application development to fostering collaborative partnerships. Under her guidance, the team is dedicated to pushing the frontiers of label-free assay technology, exploring novel applications, and forging strategic alliances with key stakeholders in the industry.

Talk Title:

Enabling Innovation in Biopharma R&D: Advances in BLI Instrumentation, Sensors, and Assays