Introduction to Python Programming for the Laboratory

January 25-29, 2025

San Diego Convention Center

San Diego, CA, USA

Introduction to Python Programming for the Laboratory

Python is one of the most popular and useful cross-platform general-purpose programming languages. Its simplicity and “batteries included” philosophy has driven its popularity and broad applicability, especially for handling scientific data. In this hands-on course, we will cover the basics of programming in Python, introduce the most relevant libraries for laboratory scientists, and demonstrate how to solve authentic tasks encountered in a typical lab.

Continue your Python skill development with our next course, Streamlining your Laboratory with Python.

Who Should Attend?

Research scientists working with data of all types.
Laboratory managers interested in reducing data to interpretable results.
Integrators with a need to monitor automated system operation.
Students with a desire to learn how to wrangle and present their results.

Course Benefits

Learn the basics of Python programming from seasoned instructors
Explore the variety of Python data structures available for storage and analysis
Learn to load data from a variety of sources and transform it into analyzable data structures
Perform basic data analysis and be introduced to Python’s statistical capabilities
Learn how to format and generate scientific plots and other visualizations in preparation for results interpretation and reporting.

Course Topics

Introduction to Python and its Role in a Scientific Laboratory
Data types, conditional execution and iteration
Reading and writing files, spreadsheets and databases
Working with data and data structures
Reducing and summarizing raw measurements
Scientific plotting and visualization

Instructors

Mark F. Russo. Ph.D.
Department of Computer Science
The College of New Jersey

Mark Russo received a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering in 1989. He has held positions in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical industries in the fields of scientific computing, laboratory automation, data system design and development and software architecture. Russo has been involved in SLAS for many years as a short course instructor, session and track chair and the Executive Editor of the Journal of Laboratory Automation (JALA). He has published extensively on topics related to scientific computing and laboratory automation, including scientific articles and book chapters. Currently, he works in the pharmaceutical industry in enterprise information management. Russo also teaches computer science at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ.

William Neil
West Belmar, NJ

William Neil received a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Biology from Trenton State College in 1981. For several years he worked with the Toxicology Division of Mobil Oil Corporation where he developed his interest in computer programming and laboratory automation. In 1987, he wrote his first application to automate data collection from a liquid scintillation counter and installed his first robotics system to automate a Packard biological oxidizer. He then took a two-year sabbatical to focus entirely on laboratory automation at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), where he automated fragrance sample compounding. It was at IFF where he learned how to ensure a 24/7 operation. Neil has been employed in the pharmaceutical industry since 1995, where he has written several applications in Python, C#, Visual Basic, VBA and numerous vendor scripting languages to automate the Drug Discovery process, particularly in the area of instrument integration.