What we're watching at ADLM 2026

In just a few days' time, the SelectScience^® team will be touching down in Anaheim, California, for ADLM 2026, one of the most important events in the global laboratory medicine calendar.

Each year, the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) brings together thousands of laboratory professionals, clinicians, scientists, industry leaders, and technology innovators to showcase the latest advances in diagnostics and explore the challenges and opportunities facing healthcare laboratories worldwide.

For the SelectScience team, it is an opportunity to speak directly with the people shaping the future of laboratory medicine, discover emerging technologies before they reach routine practice, and uncover the trends that will influence laboratories long after the exhibition halls close.

With a packed schedule of interviews, press briefings, technology demonstrations, and the Scientists' Choice Awards^® celebration ahead, we have been discussing the topics we will be watching most closely throughout the week.

Will AI finally move beyond the hype?

Few topics have generated as much discussion across healthcare and laboratory medicine in recent years as artificial intelligence.

At previous conferences, conversations often focused on what's possible. This year, we're expecting discussions to be much more practical.

How are laboratories actually implementing AI? Where is it delivering measurable value today? Can it help address workforce shortages, improve efficiency, support data interpretation, and reduce administrative burden?

These are some of the questions we will be exploring with industry leaders throughout the week.

Whether it's integrated software platforms, workflow optimization tools, decision-support technologies, or large language model applications, we're keen to understand where laboratories are moving beyond experimentation and into real-world adoption.

The continued rise of precision diagnostics

Precision medicine continues to reshape healthcare, and ADLM remains one of the most important stages for discussions around molecular diagnostics, genomics, and personalized healthcare.

We are particularly interested in hearing how companies are helping laboratories deliver faster, more accurate results while managing increasing test complexity and growing patient expectations.

Conversations around next-generation sequencing, oncology diagnostics, infectious disease testing, and biomarker discovery are expected to feature prominently throughout the conference.

As healthcare increasingly moves towards personalized treatment pathways, understanding how laboratories can support that transition will be a major focus for us.

Automation remains a laboratory priority

Laboratories across the world continue to face significant pressures, from increasing workloads and staffing challenges to rising demands for productivity and efficiency.

As a result, automation remains one of the most important technology areas in diagnostics.

Throughout ADLM 2026, we will be exploring how manufacturers are helping laboratories streamline operations, improve turnaround times, and create more sustainable workflows.

We expect to see innovations spanning sample processing, workflow management, data integration, robotics, and analytical instrumentation, all designed to help laboratories do more with existing resources.

Looking beyond individual products

One of the things we enjoy most about the ADLM annual meeting, is that it often reveals where the industry is heading next.

Yes, we will be covering new product launches and technology announcements, but we will also be looking beyond individual innovations to identify the bigger themes emerging across the exhibition floor.

What challenges are laboratories prioritizing? Which technology categories are generating the most excitement? What are industry leaders talking about when they’re not standing behind a podium?

Often the most interesting stories come from the conversations happening between scientists, laboratory leaders, and technology developers.

The people behind the innovation

One of the highlights of the ADLM meeting each year is the opportunity to meet the experts driving progress across laboratory medicine.

During the week, we will be sitting down with senior leaders, scientists, clinicians, and innovators from across the diagnostics industry to hear their perspectives on the future of healthcare testing.

We will be asking what challenges they believe laboratories face today, where opportunities for improvement exist, and which technologies they believe will have the greatest impact over the next five years.

Through interviews, videos, and on-the-ground reporting, we'll be sharing these insights directly with the SelectScience community.

Celebrating the Scientists' Choice Awards

Of course, no ADLM meeting would be complete without the Scientists' Choice Awards^®.

One of the highlights of our week will be celebrating the technologies that scientists themselves have recognized as making a meaningful difference in laboratories around the world.

The Scientists' Choice Awards are unique because the winners are determined by clinical lab professionals, reflecting real-world experiences with the products and technologies they use every day.

We look forward to celebrating this year's winners and sharing the results with readers throughout the event.

Follow our ADLM 2026 coverage

Over the coming days, the SelectScience team will be bringing you live coverage from Anaheim, including breaking news, exclusive interviews, product highlights, video content, expert insights, and daily conference round-ups.

Whether you are attending ADLM in person or following from afar, we will be sharing the stories, technologies, and conversations that matter most to scientists and laboratory professionals.

We're looking forward to an exciting week and can't wait to see what ADLM 2026 has in store.

Follow SelectScience throughout ADLM 2026 for exclusive interviews, daily round-up articles, Scientists' Choice Awards coverage, and the latest news from the exhibition floor.