Best Lab manager award

WINNER

Kelley Brodsky (University of Colorado - Denver)

"Kelley is by far the most efficient lab manager I have ever worked with. With over 25 years of experience being at the bench and managing large labs at the same time, Kelley knows what we need before even we ask her for it. Whether it is ordering lab supplies or picking her brain for input on our experiments, she is always willing to go the extra mile to help us out in the best way possible. A breast cancer survivor, Kelley has never complained about what life throws at her, or the very typical whining of postdocs in the lab. Her enthusiasm for our work is infectious, and she ensures that we perform our research to the best of our abilities. Her punctuality, integrity and organizational skills never cease to amaze us at the lab. I call her my “lab mom”, and quite aptly so she takes care of all our needs. She is our rock in the lab! I hope that when I take on the role of an independent investigator, I can have someone as diligent, efficient and knowledgeable as Kelley as my lab manager. I wish I could clone her!"

-Rushita Bagchi (University of Colorado – Denver)

Leora Hamburger-Elliot (Columbia University)

"Leora has always gone above and beyond, from the first day that I arrived to Columbia from the UK, not knowing anyone, can be a daunting thing to do. However, Leora made sure that I felt at home, making sure I had a place to stay until I had everything organised and even when I had everything organised she would take care of myself and everyone else in the lab. Being a Muslim she would make sure I knew were all the halal stores where so I would be comfortable just to focus on my research, she treated me like her own family, which I feel greatly indebted to. Having the title of Lab Manager or mother as we would say, in the lab, she upholds to that title by feeding us constantly listening to our worries and woes and helping us to find solutions to problems both inside and outside the lab."

- Khuram Ashraf  (Columbia University)

Michelle Johnson (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

"I have worked with Michelle for over 18 years now.  In the early years, she was the extraction queen of our group.  No matter what compound we needed to analyzed via mass spec, she found ways to for sample clean up.  Fast forward years, she has increased her education level to meet the demands of her growing roles including lab management.  Being a lab manager myself, I know who to go to when I need assistance in brainstorming ideas with assays.  She has led her lab to fantastic grants, publications, and even company investments in the area of Free Radical Biology.  She is the Queen."

-Landon Wilson (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Faiza Baameur (The University of Texas at MD Anderson)

"Every day I marvel at her contributions to keeping our lab in order. MD Anderson runs not only like a lab, but like a mini company. Faiza is able to handle every role thrown at her. Her leadership qualities, communication, and networking skills are a huge asset to our lab. Her participation both as a scientific member and as lab mother/manager demonstrates her dedication and interests towards ensuring the success of science for those around her. I cannot imagine a more worthy candidate!"

-Angie Chiang (The University of Texas at MD Anderson)

Joseph Milazzo (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

"We are a lab with 15 members and Joe is the key to keep everything organized, order everything for everybody and always arrives in time even if you send emails over weekends. We never run out of common stock. Whenever there are issues, he always solve it immediately. I remember when I was in bad mood, Joe drove all the way to Huntington to get me pizza to cheer me up! He never forgets anybody's birthday! He is also great in terms of teaching all the molecular, and cell culture experimental skills and mice works! Vakoc lab can never run without him."

- Xiaoli  Wu (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

The prize

Proteintech is offering a  $1000 award    and a care package (Award plaque, commemorative mug and $100 Visa gift card) for the most outstanding lab manager.

Lab Manager Hall of Fame

Congratulations to the previous winners of the Best Lab Manager Award!

2017 Winner Clare McManus University of Manchester, UK "Clare is simply the lab manager you wish you had in your daily work and in case of emergencies. She has always been efficient and supportive, but then has been literally amazing in keeping the lab together after the fire which destroyed the Paterson Building where most of our lab research took place, she has kept going the extra mile to find alternative solutions and then to facilitate the relocation to the new building." - Sara Valpione

2016 Winner Mary Skinner  University of Michigan, USA "Mary is an outstanding lab manager. She certainly goes beyond her required duties; whether it's organizing the lab freezers or organizing the mouse colony for 8hrs on a Saturday afternoon, Mary seems to be on call 24/7. She is a single parent to a pre-teen, yet the lab is always well-stocked and in OSEH compliance. Mary never complains about the typical whining and complaining of grad students and post-docs, rather she acts as arbitrator to try to come to a compromise that will allow everyone to do their research to the best of their ability. My goal is to have my own research lab with a lab manager as capable and efficient as Mary." - William Giblin, University of Michigan

Blog:

HOW TO BE A GREAT LAB MANAGER: 6 TIPS

Being a lab manager is not an easy task and it’s about a lot more than just the science. Follow the link for 6 tips to help you be a great lab manager and better manage your time.