A Year of Momentum

2025 marked a defining year for HistoSpring—a year where scientific progress, new technology, and operational expansion came together to automate and advance the histology core, spatial biology, and translational research. This retrospective highlights the technical advancements and scientific progress that shaped the year: time-saving automation, the integration of next-generation imaging and AI-driven analysis platforms, breakthroughs in estrogen biology models, and the continued adaptability of the wet lab environment to meet rapidly evolving research needs. Together, these milestones set the stage for an even more impactful 2026 as we deepen our focus on automation-driven efficiency, spatial biology, and scientific growth.

Automation + AI: Building a Modern Histology Core

HALO® AI: A New Era of Interactive, Automated Tissue Analysis
“HALO® AI is the new video game for pathologists.” That’s how one researcher described it—and for good reason. The shift from manual click-counting to intelligent, AI-driven image analysis has transformed how scientists interact with stained slides. Instead of reviewing static images, researchers can now explore tissue digitally with real-time feedback, intuitive visualization, and deeper analytical control.
HALO® AI modernizes tissue interpretation by combining deep learning with an interactive, user-guided environment. Researchers can train models on specific tissue types, refine detection parameters, and validate results visually before exporting data. Analyses that once required hours of manual counting now run in minutes, while precision increases through consistent, model-driven evaluation. Built-in overlays, probability maps, and collaborative review tools ensure alignment across teams, replacing subjective approaches with fast, reproducible, cell-level quantification.

Leica BOND RXm: Automating Staining for Higher Quality and Faster Turnaround
The Leica BOND RXm plays a central role in modernizing histology services. Its fully automated IHC, IF, and ISH workflows reduce hands-on time, improve staining consistency, and enable more efficient multiplexing across 2–6 markers per slide. This automation allows researchers to conserve tissue, accelerate project timelines, and maintain uniform quality across assays—making staining more scalable and better aligned with the needs of translational and exploratory research.

Aperio CS2: Expanding Digital Pathology Through High-Resolution Slide Scanning
The addition of the Aperio CS2 strengthens the digital pathology workflow by enabling high-resolution whole-slide imaging directly from the lab. The ability to rapidly scan slides, preserve morphology with true-to-color imaging, and support side-by-side comparisons allows for more efficient interpretation and easier collaboration across teams. Integrating CS2-generated images with HALO® AI further enhances quantitative analysis and empowers researchers to extract deeper insights from every tissue section.

Reimagining the Wet Lab for Next-Gen Research
This year marked a continued shift toward a more flexible, scalable wet lab environment built to support next-generation research needs. By moving away from traditional, animal-dependent workflows and adopting a coworking-style model, the facility became better equipped to support both early-stage teams and established investigators. Researchers can now scale bench space as projects evolve, access highly specialized equipment, leverage core facility expertise, and tap into advanced instrumentation without the financial or logistical burden of building out new space. From histology automation and digital imaging platforms to essential molecular and cell biology tools, high-end resources are available on demand—reducing operational barriers, lightening management responsibilities, and accelerating experimental timelines.

Collaboration Highlight: Advancing Spatial Biology at HistoSpring
A key event this year was the Lunch & Learn: “Advancing Spatial Biology at HistoSpring,” held on October 29th in partnership with Bio-Techne/ACD and hosted at UMass Amherst’s Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS). The session brought researchers together to explore how the RNAscope™ Multiplex Fluorescent Assay, Leica BOND RX automation, and HALO® AI analysis enable same-section RNA and protein detection with striking visual clarity and quantitative precision. Live demonstrations showed up to six targets detected in a single tissue section, AI-driven segmentation that assigns markers cell-by-cell, and automated outputs that distinguish epithelial and stromal regions—highlighting the power of truly integrated spatial biology workflows.

The event underscored how collaborative efforts can accelerate discovery. By combining ACD’s RNAscope™ technology with automated staining and digital pathology capabilities available through HistoSpring, attendees saw firsthand how these platforms work together to deliver reproducible, analysis-ready data. The session reinforced the commitment to providing researchers with accessible, end-to-end workflows that make advanced spatial biology both actionable and scalable for translational research.

New Models to Study Estrogen’s Role in Breast Cancer
New models provided by Drs. Joseph Jerry and Sallie Schneider have advanced our understanding of how estrogen signaling influences both normal breast biology and breast cancer risk. Newly introduced cell-based models provided clearer insight into how estrogen activates gene expression and induces DNA damage in normal breast epithelial cells—particularly in cells carrying BRCA1 mutations. These models also captured individual variability in estrogen responses, offering a more accurate platform for studying early events that contribute to breast cancer development. This work, combined with emerging research on pathways linked to late recurrence in ER+ breast cancers, reinforces the need for better tools to distinguish normal from pathogenic estrogen signaling. Together, these advances sharpen our understanding of breast cancer risk, treatment resistance, and opportunities to improve prevention strategies.

Looking Ahead to 2026
The year ahead will focus on fully leveraging the automation and AI tools now embedded in the lab’s workflow. With slide scanning and HALO® AI analysis working in tandem, researchers can return to archived studies, digitize older H&E and IHC slides, and generate accurate, quantitative data that were difficult or impossible to obtain through manual scoring. This shift opens new opportunities to validate earlier findings, resolve inconsistencies in historical scoring, and strengthen manuscripts with reproducible, cell-level metrics.

Leveraging the cell and tissue resources will be a central emphasis in 2026. This includes primary cell and organoid models from the normal breast tissue biobank as well as tumors. These provide more physiologically relevant models allowing researchers to simulate interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment while capturing multidimensional biological data.

New programming will launch with virtual HALO® AI training sessions to help investigators incorporate advanced digital pathology into their research. These sessions will provide guided, hands-on experience with AI-driven analysis and practical strategies for integrating automated workflows into active projects.