Curtis Walton
Director, Automation & Process Optimization Institute for Protein Innovation
Curtis Walton the Director of Automation and Process Optimization at the Institute for Protein Innovation (IPI). He brings deep expertise in laboratory automation and protein engineering, with a strong track record of building scalable workflows that accelerate scientific discovery. Curtis holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Ottawa, where he developed novel biocatalysts for pharmaceutical applications. At IPI and in previous roles, he has led multidisciplinary teams and spearheaded the integration of cutting-edge automation platforms, transforming research pipelines through innovative, and data-driven approaches.
Seminars
AI/ML models are only as powerful as the experimental wet-lab insights that are used as input data to generate feedback. This workshop explores how lab automation, assay standardization, and closed‑loop experimentation are transforming biologic therapeutic discovery by enabling continuous, self‑improving AI workflows.
Participants will explore:
- The role of lab automation in enabling AI‑driven protein discovery at scale
- How to design lab workflows that generate high‑quality, AI‑usable experimental data rather than isolated results
- How to integrate automated wet‑lab experimentation with in silico prediction pipelines to create continuous lab‑in‑the‑loop learning cycles
- Where lab automation delivers the greatest ROI today, such as, binder screening and affinity maturation, developability profiling and high‑throughput functional and biophysical assays
- Variability across automated platforms, assays, and labs, unpacking the implications for AI/ML model performance
- Human‑in‑the‑loop decision‑making, QA and QC, where expert input remains critical despite automation
- Scaling automated discovery workflows while maintaining data reproducibility, QC, and regulatory confidence
