2026 Scientists’ Choice Awards: Life Sciences & General Lab winners announced

The world’s most innovative and effective technologies advancing laboratory workflows across life sciences research have been recognized in the latest release of the 2026 Scientists’ Choice Awards^®.

Each year, SelectScience invites its scientist readers and members from around the globe to participate by nominating, reviewing, and voting for the lab products that have had the greatest impact on their work.

Your chosen winners

Best New Life Sciences Product of 2025

The award for Best New Life Sciences Product of 2025 goes to the Invitrogen™ EVOS™ S1000 Spatial Imaging System from Thermo Fisher Scientific, as voted for by scientists around the world.

This systems is designed to generate a fully stitched, unmixed, multiplexed image for multiple samples, offering a single operating software that simplifies the imaging process, allowing users to effortlessly navigate through each step required to acquire a multiplex image.

The runners up for this category include:

• Amperia™ Protein Quantification System by Abselion
• Seahorse XF Flex Analyzer by Agilent Technologies
• CytoFLEX mosaic Spectral Detection Module by Beckman Coulter
• LUMOS II ILIM by Bruker Optics
• Cytek Aurora™ Evo Flow Cytometer by Cytek Biosciences
• FV5000 Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope by EVIDENT
• LUNA-BX7™ Automated Cell Counter by Logos Biosystems
• ImageXpress^® HCS.ai High-Content Screening System by Molecular Devices^®
• Olink^® Reveal by Olink Proteomics
• iQue^® 5 HTS Cytometer by Sartorius Group
• Veya^® by Tecan
• ZEISS Axioscan 7 by ZEISS Research Microscopy Solutions

Best New General Lab Product of 2025

The award for Best New General Lab Product of 2025 goes to the Eppendorf Research^® 3 neo Mechanical Pipettes from Eppendorf, as voted for by scientists around the world.

These pipettes feature adaptable settings (including faster volume adjustment, a shorter operating button, and more) to increase your efficiency and accuracy with ease.

The runners up for this category include:

• SWITCH Hybrid Pipette by INTEGRA Biosciences
• NineFocus™ pH Meter by METTLER TOLEDO
• Cubis^® II MPS116S Pipette Calibration System by Sartorius Group
• RepeatOne^® S Dispenser by Starlab
• Thermo Scientific™ LYNX™ Superspeed Centrifuges with GreenCool Technology by Thermo Fisher Scientific

Webinar of the Year

This year’s Webinar of the Year is awarded to Dr. Chow-Seng Kong, Wellcome-Trust Translational Research Fellow, University of Warwick; James Rowan, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Dr. Nathan White, University College London; and Mark White, Director of Global Product Marketing, Life Science Group, Bio-Rad Laboratories.

In this SelectScience webinar, titled ‘Meet the next evolution of ddPCR solutions', the PCR experts shared how ddPCR has advanced their studies, from detecting rare mutations to improving transplant monitoring. It also covered how Bio-Rad’s latest systems deliver exceptional sensitivity, simplicity, and performance, enabling absolute quantification, scalable workflows, and reliable results with minimal sample input.

Article of the Year

The winning article is titled 'How GeneCore at EMBL combines automation with human expertise' and features technology from SPT Labtech.

It shares how GeneCore, the Genomics Core Facility at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, is a hub for genomic research, supporting projects with samples ranging from glaciers to rare species analyses. Here, Ferris Jung and Vivianne Dorothee Niehaus from GeneCore share their insights on balancing walkaway automation with hands-on expertise, and explain why miniaturization is the next frontier.

Video of the Year

'Pfizer drives cancer research breakthroughs with supercritical fluid chromatography' has been awarded the Scientists’ Choice Award for Best Life Sciences Video of the Year, for 2025.

In this standout SelectScience interview, Jeff Elleraas, Principal Scientist at Pfizer’s Global Research and Development in La Jolla, California, shares insights into the role of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and how machine learning and AI are transforming chiral separations. The video also covers Pfizer’s mission to tackle the toughest challenges in oncology research, accelerate medicinal chemistry innovations, and create greener, more efficient processes for developing novel cancer treatments.

eBook of the Year

The SelectScience eBook, titled 'Your guide to nucleic acid quantification', has been awarded the Scientists’ Choice Award for Best Life Sciences eBook of the Year, for 2025.

From absorbance to fluorescence, this eBook provides an in-depth guide to selecting the best tools and methods for nucleic acid quantification. Download this free eBook to gain expert insights and practical strategies to optimize your workflows, including:

• Key differences between absorbance and fluorescence measurements
• Tips for achieving accurate and reliable DNA quantification
• The latest advances in microvolume spectrophotometers and microplate readers
• Case studies on optimizing workflows for PCR, cloning, NGS, and more
• How to scale throughput while minimizing sample and reagent use
• Practical advice on choosing the right technology for your needs

Celebrating innovation together

Thank you to our global scientific community for nominating, reviewing, and voting in this year’s Scientists’ Choice Awards. Your engagement continues to drive life sciences innovation, and we look forward to celebrating even more breakthrough technologies, inspiring content, and impactful scientific achievements in the year ahead.

Want to discover more category winners or nominate future contenders? Explore the full awards program here >>