July 31: The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine welcomed thousands of the greatest minds in clinical laboratory medicine to ADLM 2026 from July 26-30. The meeting highlighted the vast impact of diagnostic research and technology on modernizing healthcare and improving people’s lives around the globe.
As of Thursday, July 30, nearly 17,000 laboratory medicine professionals had registered for ADLM 2026. More attendees are expected today, the last day of the meeting.
In the opening plenary, Dr. David M. Nathan, the 2026 Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship awardee, shared valuable lessons he learned over five decades leading U.S. diabetes research, emphasizing the necessity of robust partnerships and federal funding.
On Monday, Dr. Kathleen McMonigal, director of the NASA Johnson Space Center Clinical Laboratory, discussed the complex effects of gravity changes on human physiology — and how she and her team will monitor and manage astronauts’ health on their missions to the moon and beyond.
Tuesday’s plenary speaker, Dr. Elizabeth Head, vice chair for research in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of California, Irvine, described research into targets for interventions that could slow or prevent Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome, a population at high risk for the disease.
On Wednesday, Dr. Leeya Pinder, a distinguished gynecologic oncologist and associate professor at the University of Cincinnati, talked about transformative developments in cervical-cancer screening and their role in promoting healthcare equity.
And in today’s closing plenary, Dr. Arun Wiita, a physician-scientist in the department of laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, described research that harnesses the power of mass spectrometry to find better testing and treatment options for blood cancers.
As part of ADLM’s Disruptive Technology Award competition, biotech innovators presented novel technologies that could help more patients get accurate diagnoses. Kompass Diagnostics won the competition with its rapid multimodal electrical transduction platform, IDA.
The ADLM 2026 Clinical Lab Expo boasted 700 exhibitors and covered an expanse of 308,611 net square feet. This vibrant exhibit featured emerging tests and tools from across laboratory medicine, incorporating artificial intelligence, clinical microbiology, molecular diagnostics, automation, point-of-care testing, mass spectrometry, and much more.
“This year’s meeting brought together clinical laboratory medicine experts from all over the world, highlighting our field’s vital — and expanding — role in driving healthcare forward,” said ADLM CEO Melanie J. Wells.
“From designing sophisticated diagnostics for space travelers to mobile testing solutions that widen access to healthcare here on Earth — and conducting a diverse array of research addressing major global health challenges like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer — clinical labs are the incubators for some of the greatest minds in medicine today. I hope that every attendee of ADLM 2026 feels the same sense of pride I do from witnessing firsthand our mighty collective impact,” Wells said. “I am already excited for next year’s meeting.”
ADLM 2027 will be held in Chicago from July 25-29, 2027.