I make it a point to attend one or two bioanalysis-related webinars each week. Additionally, I participate in quarterly webinars where I aim to share useful and valuable information with an interested audience. Attending webinars is a fantastic opportunity to invest in yourself and your team, provided you do some homework and preparation. The same applies to participating in or conducting a webinar, with even more emphasis on preparation and topic selection.
A good webinar should provide value to the audience while offering a blend of scientific rigor and interactive elements. I dedicate my time to staying updated on essential application areas, technological developments, and hot topics in bioanalytical regulations and interpretations. Webinars offer the convenience of learning from subject matter experts who share their experiences, knowledge, research, and opinions, much like attending a conference or workshop. They also provide great networking opportunities to connect and interact directly with the presenter in follow up communications. Consequently, significant learning benefits can be applied to your work. Moreover, good webinars often include summaries of the topic, further reading resources, and access to presentation slides or recordings for additional follow-up.
Conducting a webinar requires more effort from the presenter(s), as it should. The goal is to provide value to the audience—no one wants to volunteer their time listening to a straight-up sales pitch in a webinar setting. Last week, we hosted a webinar titled Revolutionizing Biomarker Analysis with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry: Case Study with TL1A. We leveraged the knowledge and experience of three of our scientists, which required at least six planning sessions and many hours of material preparation and practice before the live webinar. We strategically broke down the biology of TL1A as a biomarker, our decade of experience with this assay in our bioanalytical laboratory, and our practical observations on how high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) enables such a challenging assay. The objective was to share valuable information and knowledge before describing our capabilities and bioanalytical services. We also included three polling questions with twofold objective; to understand the webinar audience and to share the results with the audience pertaining to the interest levels in the subject matter. The responses to the polling questions were interesting and provided valuable information to the audience as well as us.
As an attendee or presenter, I always support the Q&A component of a webinar. This is a great time for presenters to engage further with the audience. Presenters who do not leave enough time for live questions miss an opportunity to understand the audience’s interests and any gaps in the material covered. Case in mind was our TL1A webinar last week that went almost as long as the webinar presentation itself and induced a series of questions that as presenters we had not predicted. The engagement was helpful to understand the interest in the topic, what the audience wanted to know more about and enable some specific follow up. If I receive a question that I don’t know the answer to, I’ll admit it and follow up after doing the necessary research. This is why I appreciate the written Q&A feature in webinar hosting tools, as it memorializes the question and allows for accurate follow-up.
Where can you find good bioanalytical webinars? Company websites often promote webinar series, and you should check these out from trusted bioanalytical providers. Companies also use social media sites like LinkedIn and X to share information on upcoming webinars. Professional societies like AAPS and interest groups such as PCSIG are known for holding valuable webinars. Watch out for instrument and equipment vendors who may have relevant material in webinar format. The FDA also conducts numerous webinars, including a series on bioanalysis. Industry newsletters and publications (e.g., Bioanalysis Zone) frequently announce their webinars, either live or recorded and on-demand. And did I mention that webinars are typically free to attend in exchange for your email address?
Overall, webinars are a great source of information and present tremendous value to bioanalysts looking to learn new areas of our discipline or stay updated with ongoing progressive science. I hope to see your name on one of the upcoming webinars I’ll be participating in.

Stephen Lowes, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Bioanalytical Services Welcome! I'm Steve Lowes, and I'm thrilled to share my journey, thoughts, and insights with you through this blog. As the Senior Director of Scientific Affairs at IQVIA Laboratories in Ithaca, NY, I've dedicated over 30 years to the fascinating field of regulated bioanalysis. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of presenting at numerous conferences and authoring publications that aim to advance our science and foster dialogue within our discipline. I'm proud to be the co-editor of the book "Regulated Bioanalysis: Fundamentals and Practice," and I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience from the lab, as well as troubleshooting bioanalytical data. Recently, my interests have focused on the exciting applications of LC-MS in modern drug modalities and biomarker bioanalysis. This has expanded into biologic molecules, adding new dimensions to the future potential and importance of the bioanalyst's role in bringing safe and effective therapies to market. Outside of work, I cherish life with my wife and two wonderful teenage daughters. You can often find me fly fishing on trout streams and salmon rivers or hiking the beautiful gorges and forests of central NY with my black Labrador, Josie. I look forward to diving into and exploring current bioanalytical topics and more with you!
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