My recent participation in Sapio Sciences’ comprehensive Training & Accreditation Program in late March 2025 has provided a transformative perspective on laboratory data management and digital transformation. This intensive three-day, in-person event, specifically designed for individuals new to the Sapio Platform, offered a dynamic blend of live demonstrations, hands-on exercises, and practical simulations, equipping participants with the tangible skills required to confidently configure, deploy, and manage solutions leveraging the platform.
The program’s structure, comprising two sequential courses – foundational essentials followed by advanced concepts – ensured a robust learning curve. The initial focus centered on the critical process of analyzing client-provided resources to translate real-world laboratory workflows into efficient digital frameworks within the Sapio Platform.
A significant takeaway was the emphasis on a data-first design methodology. This approach prioritizes identifying and structuring the core data a laboratory needs to capture before mapping process flows. By developing detailed checklists based on specific use cases, we learned to pinpoint key data types and immediately begin constructing the foundational elements of a digital solution.
The training underscored the power of well-structured data models in streamlining laboratory operations. We gained practical knowledge in building intuitive data hierarchies using Parent/Child relationships and strategically employing Side-Linking to associate data effectively without compromising system performance.
A notable highlight was the program’s focus on live prototyping, a paradigm shift from traditional static design approaches. This allowed for real-time visualization of user interaction with the platform, facilitating iterative refinement and ensuring user-centric design before final implementation.
Sapio’s commitment to leveraging Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) Data Types and minimizing unnecessary complexity was a consistent theme. We learned the importance of designing for scalability, particularly through the strategic use of High Volume Data Types (HVDTs) to maintain optimal system performance when handling substantial datasets.
The Sapio team also introduced their integrated Artificial Intelligence tools: ELaiN and the Sapio Support Agent. ELaiN demonstrated its capability to assist users with direct platform actions, such as experiment and plate creation, and system querying. The Sapio Support Agent proved invaluable for accessing information and support, including the ability to conduct document searches via a user-friendly chat interface
The foundational course culminated in participants gaining proficiency in utilizing the Sapio Platform UI, including the Toolbar Designer and Data Designer, to customize user experiences. By the end of the first day, we were capable of performing essential administrative and operational tasks, including:
- Adding users and creating user groups.
- Configuring granular group permissions encompassing data type access, administrative privileges, and main menu visibility.
- Entering and managing critical laboratory entities such as materials, samples, storage locations, and instruments.
- Setting up experiments and managing incoming requests.
- Assigning samples to specific processes.
- Establishing laboratory management metrics and downstream
- KPI charting, including conditional branching, queue time and turnaround time calculations, and configurable quality control (QC) conditions.
The training also highlighted the flexibility of the Process Queue, supporting both plate and sample tracking, and the ability to initiate and monitor new requests via the Main Menu or directly from an experiment, with configurable request metrics available in the Request Dashboard. The role of the Group Manager in enabling administrators to tailor user views based on roles, manage system settings, and assign data type permissions was also emphasized.
The advanced course delved into Sapio’s robust no-code rules engine, a powerful tool for automating diverse tasks with minimal or no coding expertise. The training covered rule triggers and invocations, fundamental rule actions, and the distinction between global, system-wide rules and ELN template-specific rules. For more intricate logic, the advanced mode offers further customization, including the implementation of ‘OR’ conditions.
Furthermore, we explored techniques to:
- Customize home pages for different user groups using the Home Page Layout Manager, providing streamlined access to relevant information.
- Tailor views for specific user roles.
- Simplify workflows and reduce unnecessary steps.
- Automate routine tasks, thereby enhancing overall usability and operational efficiency.
Building upon the foundational knowledge, the program introduced the integration capabilities of Python and the Sapio REST API. Utilizing SapioPyLib and SapioPyCommons, we learned how to implement webhook logic and simplify integration efforts with external systems.
The training concluded with a comprehensive overview of webhooks and their crucial role in extending Sapio’s functionality beyond its native capabilities. We learned to identify key webhook components, differentiate between webhooks and web service calls, and determine the appropriate use cases for the rules engine, Python webhooks, or Java plugins. Webhooks, essentially code snippets leveraging the Sapio REST API, enable the execution of custom tasks triggered by specific events within the system, such as data saving or experiment-specific rule execution.
Through practical exercises using Python and PyCharm to establish a local webhook server environment connected to Sapio via ngrok, we gained hands-on experience in creating webhooks. This included developing a webhook capable of exporting a predefined search and delivering a file template as part of the response. The training also highlighted the reusability of these webhook functions through templating, promoting efficiency and standardization.
In conclusion, the Sapio Platform Training & Accreditation Program provided an invaluable and in-depth hands-on introduction to a powerful platform. I emerged from the program equipped with the practical skills and foundational knowledge necessary to design, configure, and manage robust and scalable digital laboratory solutions. The comprehensive training manual and the instructors’ clear, live walkthroughs were particularly beneficial, especially for someone new to both Sapio and Python. This experience has instilled in me the confidence to apply my newfound knowledge to create efficient, user-centric, and data-driven workflows tailored to the complexities of modern laboratory environments.
