Overview
The 3rd Trends & Innovations in Medical Laboratories Conference (TIML 2026) takes place 13–16 September 2026 at the Fairmont Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the theme Shaping the Future of Diagnostics, Research, and Laboratory Excellence. Now in its third edition, TIML has become a leading national platform bringing together laboratory directors, clinical scientists, pathologists, technologists, researchers, regulators and healthcare leaders from across the Kingdom and beyond. Organisers expect 2,000+ participants and the meeting carries 30 accredited CME hours.
The programme is built around six focus areas that reflect where laboratory medicine is heading: diagnostics innovation, laboratory research, AI and automation, digital transformation, quality and accreditation, and future lab technologies. Rather than a purely academic agenda, the emphasis is on practical knowledge laboratory teams can apply — localisation of laboratory services, workforce development, governance and value-based laboratory medicine sit alongside the science.
Format
- 13 September 2026 — Workshops day. Six hands-on workshops covering corrective action plans for accreditation findings and proficiency testing events; hidden challenges in laboratory operations (sustainability, KPIs, LIS optimisation); clinical insight in laboratory interpretation (bioinformatics, variant interpretation in highly consanguineous populations, NGS in clinical microbiology); artificial intelligence for clinical laboratories and precision pathology; leading the lab under pressure (crisis management, value-based laboratory medicine); and public health surveillance and screening (surveillance in KSA, premarital screening, newborn screening).
- 14–16 September 2026 — Main conference. Three days of keynotes, eight scientific sessions and expert panels.
Scientific highlights
Day 1 opens with lectures on the clinical and economic value of molecular point-of-care testing and on localisation in medical laboratories, followed by sessions on hot topics in clinical biochemistry and toxicology (reference intervals and health disparities, mass spectrometry, traumatic brain injury biomarkers), comprehensive haematology diagnostics (premarital hemoglobinopathy testing, platelet function assays, haemostasis–thrombosis, flow cytometry in personalised medicine), and pathology''s leap into nano-innovation and digital intelligence (digital pathology implementation, molecular testing in thyroid and gynaecologic cytopathology).
Day 2 features a "From Bench to Leadership" panel and sessions on microbiology''s next wave (cefiderocol resistance genomics, zoonotic disease threats, NGS for antimicrobial resistance), precision medicine integrating germline and cancer testing, and HLA testing and transplant immunology, including global regulatory approaches to ATMPs.
Day 3 turns to workforce localisation and laboratory governance panels, research and innovation (AI strategies beyond proof-of-concept, oncolytic virus research), and a closing session on point-of-care testing in acute care — ED bottlenecks, bedside PCR flu testing, and the impact of POCT on patient outcomes.
Labathon 2026
Running alongside the conference, Labathon 2026 is a national laboratory innovation challenge delivered with Saudi NIH, King Saud University Central Research Laboratory and the Saudi Innovation Club. Multidisciplinary teams — developers, data scientists, laboratory professionals and engineers — compete across two tracks, Smart Laboratory Operations and Advanced Laboratory Medicine & Research, with mentoring sessions and an awards ceremony.
Registration & contact
Registration is open online via the official conference portal. Enquiries: info@timlksa.com · +966 55 243 4872.
