Scaling-up represents a crucial, yet often neglected, aspect of scientific innovation. Many researchers discover the limitations of 'It worked in the lab' only years after leaving academia. Embedding scale-up considerations into early-stage research can greatly enhance the societal (sustainability, world health, etc.) and industrial impact of academic discoveries.
The in-person Scale Up Conference 2026 at the University of Oxford will explore the scientific and technical challenges of translating laboratory-scale discoveries in chemistry, biology, materials science, and pharmaceuticals, in to viable industrial-scale processes.
Join us to hear about 'AI for Scale-up Challenges' from our keynote speaker Antonio Del Rio Chanona (Imperial College London) and enjoy a fireside chat on 'How to scale-up the manufacturing of the University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine' with Sandy Douglas, (University of Oxford). This will complement two parallel speaker tracks throughout the day on scale-up challenges in Biology and Chemistry.
Tickets from £45.
The conference will be followed by a free Laboratory Automation Showcase and networking reception in the evening, to which all conference guests are welcome. Information on the Laboratory Automation Showcase can be found further down this page.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Antonio Del Rio Chanona
Antonio is Associate Professor and Head of the Optimization and Machine Learning for Process Systems Engineering Group group in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Centre for Process Systems Engineering, at Imperial College London. His research focuses on developing and applying computer algorithms from the area of optimization, machine learning, large language models, and reinforcement learning to engineering systems. The applied branch of his research looks at bioprocess control, optimization, and scale-up.
Antonio holds a PhD from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, and received his undergraduate degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
He is also Co-Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Synthesis & Reaction Technology (rEaCt).
FIRESIDE CHAT SPEAKER
Sandy Douglas
Sandy Douglas is a pharmaceutical physician, Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow and Wellcome-Beit prize winner. He is an Associate Professor in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford.
His main interests are the development of new antibody-inducing vaccines and breaking down the barriers to translation of new biological medicines into clinical trials. His group's work spans from protein biochemistry and virology (seeking to design new and improved vaccine antigens), through development of high-quality yet cost-effective biological manufacturing processes, to Phase I/II clinical trials.
The Sandy Douglas Lab Group led manufacturing scale-up of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine up to the point of transfer to AstraZeneca. This included the development of the novel low-cost large-scale manufacturing process, and initiating the formation of the UK & international 'distributed manufacturing site' consortium which has produced over a billion doses.
Sandy also leads the University's Bioprocess and Analytical Development (BiPAD) team. He is particularly interested in bringing together clinical and bioprocess understanding to make small-scale GMP manufacturing more cost-effective, lowering the barrier to experimental medicine and early-phase clinical development of novel interventions. In addition, he is Co-Investigator on the EPSRC funded Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub (Vax-Hub),
Supplementary Event
Lab Automation Showcase
Join us for the 2nd Oxford Edition of London Lab Automation Community (LLabAC), which follows directly on from the 2026 Scale Up Conference on June 11.
Scaling up of biological and chemical processes is crucial for delivering promising new products to the market. Collecting the right data, high signal low noise, is crucial and laboratory automation is increasingly enabling reliable and reproducible experimental workflows and generation of high-signal, standardised datasets that inform scale-up decisions. This event will include two lightning talks to kick-off lots of networking over snacks and drinks.
This event will bring together lab automators, scientists, decision makers and vendors from the Oxford ecosystem for an evening of productive exchange and ecosystem building.
Programme:
- 5:30 Doors open
- 5:45 Lightning Talks (Speakers to be announced soon)
- 6:15 Laboratory Automation Showcase and Reception
- 7:30 Event ends
