LSIT Global Institute Examines Research Lab of the Future; Electronic Lab Notebooks Critical for Convergence of Life Science and Information Technology.

SAN DIEGO -- The Life Sciences Information Technology (LSIT) Global Institute will present "Laboratory of the Future Today: Trusted, Secure and Authenticated Data Handling Using Electronic Lab Notebooks," a seminar to discuss the benefits of utilizing electronic notebook systems to manage critical research data in the life and health sciences communities.

The event will be held on Jan. 18, 2005, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., at The Neurosciences Institute as part of their Performing Arts and Education Program. The Institute is located at 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, in La Jolla, California. The event is designed for scientific leaders seeking to improve the efficiency of their discovery, development and manufacturing operations. The speaker and panelists will explore electronic data security and extensibility in areas such as regulatory compliance and patent requirements, and will address the long-term viability of e.data, and other aspects related to trust in burgeoning technologies.

The event will begin with a presentation, immediately followed by a panel discussion with experts from academia, and pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and law firms. Planned participants include Richard Stember, CEO Scientific Division, EKM Corp.; Thomas D.Y. Chung, President, Scientific Consultants; Mahesh H. Merchant, Associate Professor of Informatics, Indiana University School of Informatics; David Waller, President of San Diego-based intellectual property management firm David B. Waller & Associates; Wain Fishburn, partner, Cooley Godward; and Howard R. Asher, Board Chairman of the LSIT Global Institute.

Howard Asher said it's critical for life science leaders to begin trusting complex IT tools and computational processes that are accurate, valid and secure.

"As life sciences is the most regulated industry in the world, organizations are hesitant to adopt emerging technologies, even ones that promise to rapidly decrease the time from discovery to the patient," he said. "The first step is education. Programs like this one will spark important dialogue about how we can enhance the discovery process in a trusted and secure way."

Life science companies and research labs are increasingly realizing the significant benefits of digital tools such as electronic lab notebooks (ELN's). A recent doctoral thesis from the University of Indiana documented a 15 percent overall productivity gain by using an electronic lab notebook.

"We believe, with so much focus today on improving the efficiency of scientific discovery and development, that the time is right to elevate the discussion of electronic lab notebooks, and to take a broad corporate view of the need for and the exceptional benefits of ELN's," said Stewart Larson, CEO of San Diego-based EKM Corp., a co-sponsor of the event.

For more information or to register for the "Laboratory of the Future Today" event, please visit www.lsit.org/events/registration-011805.php.

About the LSIT Global Institute:

The Life Sciences Information Technology (LSIT) Global Institute is a not-for-profit organization chartered with the sole purpose of developing open source IT architectural references as a basis for Good Informatics Practices (GIP) for the life science industry. The effective and appropriate use of IT offers the promise of reducing time to market and accelerating new medical therapeutics and products from discovery to the patient. The organization's members are an alliance of leading global life sciences and information technology companies, renowned academic and medical research, institutions, healthcare providers and representatives from government regulatory agencies worldwide. For more information, visit www.lsit.org.

About The Neurosciences Institute:

The Neurosciences Institute is a not-for-profit research center dedicated to basic research designed to discover the biological principles underlying higher-level brain functions in humans. Institute scientists have been responsible for many important discoveries involving consciousness, sleep, perception, music, memory, movement, behavior and speech. For more information, please visit www.nsi.edu.