David Shorthouse

University College London, Medway School of Pharmacy

Papers

Total Citations

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About

David Shorthouse is a leading figure in laboratory automation and pharmaceutical formulation, whose work bridges the gap between robotics and drug discovery. His primary research focuses on developing autonomous systems to accelerate the optimization of medicine formulations, a critical bottleneck in pharmaceutical development. In his landmark 2025 paper, "Efficient discovery of new medicine formulations using a semi-self-driven robotic formulator," Shorthouse introduced a self-driving platform that rapidly screens and optimizes drug solubility, a contribution that has already garnered significant attention with 4 citations in its first year. This work promises to dramatically shorten the timeline from candidate drug to viable medicine. Complementing this, his development of a "3D-Printed Plate Handler for Automated Handling of Well Plates on the Opentrons OT-2" addresses a practical, widespread limitation in open-source liquid handling robots. By enabling precise, automated labware transfer, this hardware innovation expands the OT-2’s utility for complex biological and chemical assays, making high-throughput automation more accessible to research labs worldwide. Shorthouse’s work is characterized by its direct impact on experimental efficiency, offering tangible tools and systems that empower researchers to conduct faster, more reliable science.