Paperless Lab Academy USA brings together leaders from across the laboratory informatics community to explore scientific data management, laboratory digital transformation, automation, FAIR data, and emerging technologies.
As a Premium Sponsor, ZONTAL invites you to visit us at Booth 15 in Cambridge, MA from October 12–14 for discussions and live demonstrations focused on improving how laboratory data is integrated, contextualized, governed, and used across the scientific lifecycle.
ZONTAL's Keynote Presentation
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | 8:45–9:05 AM ET
Speaker: Wolfgang Colsman, CEO & Founder
From Paperless Labs to Defensible Decisions: Evidence Infrastructure for Scientific AI
Pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) laboratories have made major progress toward paperless workflows. Electronic lab notebooks (ELNs), laboratory information management systems (LIMS), and chromatography data systems (CDS) capture measurements digitally. Yet when a model flags an atypical impurity trend or recommends a formulation change, scientists often cannot trace that recommendation through instrument calibration, method validation, sample history, and study context to the original measurements. The data is digital; the evidence chain remains fragmented.
This keynote introduces evidence infrastructure: governed, bidirectional provenance created as data flows from instruments to scientific decisions. Grounded in the ICAD Principles (Integrate → Contextualize → Analyze → Decide), each integration enriches a scientific context graph. Typed relationships link analytical results to methods, specifications, stability protocols, batch genealogy, instrument state, and regulatory submissions. As these connections accumulate, the context graph becomes an operational knowledge graph whose conclusions remain traceable to source evidence.
The talk shows why evidence chains should be created during ingestion rather than reconstructed for each AI deployment, and how this supports scientific review, human oversight, and evolving transparency expectations. Attendees will leave with practical architectural patterns for assessing whether their digital lab produces accessible data alone or defensible evidence for scientific AI.
Interactive Workshop
The Missing Context: Unlocking the Value of Scientific Data with ICAD
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | 3:15–4:15 PM ET
Session Type: 1-Hour Interactive Workshop
Workshop Leaders: Dr. Loren Perelman, PhD (Vice President of Customer Experience) & Shaun Latham (Presales Data Scientist)
Join Dr. Loren Perelman and Shaun Latham for an interactive workshop exploring the practical application of the Integrate, Contextualize, Analyze, Decide (ICAD) framework. Through a live demonstration, attendees will see how data from diverse laboratory systems can be integrated and automatically contextualized with workflow, provenance, and lineage information to create a trusted foundation for analysis and decision-making.
Using a representative bioprocess workflow, the session will demonstrate how ZONTAL serves as a centralized orchestration platform, connecting instruments, applications, and processes while establishing the standardized and contextualized data foundation necessary to transform data into actionable knowledge.
In the second half of the workshop, Dr. Perelman will discuss key implementation considerations, common challenges, and proven best practices for successfully applying ICAD principles within scientific organizations.
Featured Speakers & Workshop Leaders
Wolfgang Colsman
CEO & Founder, ZONTAL
With nearly 30 years of visionary leadership, Wolfgang Colsman serves as the Chief Executive Officer of ZONTAL, a pioneering enterprise platform transforming the way organizations manage and preserve their digital information. Under his leadership, ZONTAL has become a catalyst for change across industries, redefining how data is captured, connected, and safeguarded for long-term value.
Before founding ZONTAL, Wolfgang spent over two decades at OSTHUS as Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Technology Officer, where he guided large-scale digital transformation initiatives. Beyond his corporate achievements, Wolfgang has left a lasting mark on the life sciences and technology ecosystems through his leadership at the Allotrope Foundation and the Pistoia Alliance Methods Hub project, championing data standards, interoperability, and collaborative infrastructures.
Dr. Loren Perelman, PhD
Vice President of Customer Experience, ZONTAL
Dr. Loren Perelman is a technology and business executive specializing in scientific data, digital transformation, and customer experience for the life sciences industry. As Vice President of Customer Experience at ZONTAL, he leads global customer delivery, professional services, and customer success, helping some of the world's largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations transform complex scientific data into strategic business assets.
Shaun Latham
Presales Data Scientist, ZONTAL
Shaun Latham holds a Master's degree in Biotechnology and Data Science from the University of Kent, which he attained while working as a research scientist at Pfizer, UK. During his career at Pfizer's Analytical Research and Development group, Shaun served as a senior scientist focusing on Process Analytical Technologies (PAT), laboratory digitization, and laboratory automation. Shaun now brings his expertise to ZONTAL as a Presales Data Scientist, advising prospective users on lab digitization and software integrations.