WASHINGTON — The theme of SLAS2017, the annual international conference and exhibition from the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, was "Research: The Possibilities." And that theme of looking forward to the future remained strong during the closing remarks Wednesday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

"Today, this is the end of talking about Marie Curie," said closing keynote speaker Rachel Swaby. "From there, we are going to get into a richer, fuller, totally surprising — and not just because they're women — history of the world and beyond."

Swaby is the author of the book, "Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science — and the World." The book and Swaby's speech highlight the contributions made by women in the field of science and the possibilities these women created through their perseverance and determination.

She was inspired to write the book after reading the obituary of Yvonne Brill, a rocket scientist whose work and developments in the field of satellites and propulsion are still relevant in space technology today. When Brill died in 2013, her obituary The New York Times originally began as follows: "She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children."

In reality, Brill developed the concept for the hydrazine resistojet, a new rocket engine, while pushing for the use of a single propellant to increase the rocket's efficiency. Her invention became an industry standard, and she received multiple awards, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation presented to her by former President Barack Obama.

The obituary was later changed, but the inspiration for Swaby to write the book had already transpired. Swaby decided to highlight Brill's accomplishments, along with those of 51 other woman, such as Grace Hopper, Alice Hamilton and Helen Taussig.

"The common thread here is not these scientists' gender," Swaby said. "It's grit, it's perseverance, creativity. Let's not underestimate just how hard it was to get work done — to be a woman, to be included."

That message remained strong with the recognition of the 2017 SLAS Innovation Award. The award is a $10,000 cash prize recognizing the work behind that one unique and special podium presentation that proves to be exceedingly innovative and contributes to the exploration of technologies in the laboratory, exceeds a benchmark or milestone in screening or the lead discovery process, or demonstrates an advanced and integrated use of mature technologies.

This year's prize was rewarded to Elodie Sollier-Christen of Vortex Biosciences, Inc., for her presentation on fast and label-free isolation of circulating tumor cells from blood samples. Sollier-Christen is the co-founder, chief scientific officer and vice president of research and development for Vortex Biosciences, and she heads the initiatives for the commercialization of microfluidic devices for cancer research and diagnostics.

Sollier-Christen will also be invited to become a member of the judging panel for next year's innovation award. SLAS2018 will be held Feb. 3-7 in San Diego.