Lab Manager | Run Your Lab Like a Business
Lab Manager October 2021 Cover

Cover Story |  Volume 16 - Issue 9  |  October 2021

The Lab of the Future: Big Data Enables a Big Role for AI

Big data revolutionized the lab manager's role—AI is about to do it again

Sections

Business Management

A group of scientists stands around a smartboard in the laboratory while one of the scientists points something out on the board.

Three Keys to More Effective Project Planning in the Lab

Better project planning leads to better outcomes and results

A bunch of colored lines that look somewhat like fiber-optic cables to illustrate the concept of big data

The Lab of the Future: Big Data Enables a Big Role for AI

Big data revolutionized the lab manager’s role—AI is about to do it again

Two women speaking in an office setting. One woman is dressed in black the other in an off-white blazer.

How to Effectively Communicate with Non-Scientists

Learning the “languages” of other departments outside the lab is an important component of business success

Efficient tool management, strategy and performance, online platform

Optimizing the Utilization of Lab Assets

Analyzing data to improve the availability and effectiveness of instruments and equipment in the lab

Labs Less Ordinary

A 3-d illustration of bar graphs in blue, purple, and magenta from a top-down view to illustrate big data.

This Lab Aims to Improve the World through Big Data

Research at the Data Science for Social Good Lab covers inequality and diversity, public health, smart cities, and sustainability

In Focus

two scientists talking in the lab

Unlocking the Lab of the Future

Universal data platforms empower laboratory operations and bring the lab of the future into focus

keyboard and scanner

Implementing a Document Management System

Working with a vendor to create a laboratory document control system

Leadership and Staffing

A lab manager of East Indian descent stands with her arms crossed in front of her diverse team. They are all wearing lab coats and safety glasses.

Strategic Teams and Lab Culture

A lab’s culture has a strong influence over the success of an organization’s strategic agenda

Ask the Expert

headshot

Data Management for the Entire Product Lifecycle

The Right LIMS Can Help Organizations Improve the Quality and Safety of Products from Concept to Consumer

A closeup of a white-gloved hand holding a colorful pill to represent drug discovery.

How Computation Predictions Empower Drug Discovery

Michelle Arkin, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses the growing applications of AI and ML with contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD

Lab Design and Furnishings

A view into the laboratory space of the Fermilab facility. It shows a space with white walls and floor and lab benches and cabinets with various scientists walking around in lab coats and one scientist sitting at a lab workstation. There is a red accent wall to the left.

Designing a Lab for the Unknown

Flexible lab design plans accommodate current needs, future possibilities

Views into the open labs from the atrium and bridge inside the University of Michigan Biological Sciences Building & Museum of Natural History.

Why the University of Michigan BSB Is a Beacon for Life Sci

University of Michigan BSB wins Excellence in Innovation prize in 2021 Lab Design Excellence Awards

Products in Action

INTEGRA MINI 96

INTEGRA MINI 96

Portable, precise, and affordable pipetting of 96- and 384-well plates

Lab Health and Safety

Two female scientists at work in the laboratory. One of the scientists is seated at the lab bench and is holding a pipette while the second scientist observes.

Building Habits through Lab Safety Activities

Participation in safety activities from staff and management improves safety culture

INSIGHTS

A silhouette of a face made up of electrical pathways in various shades of yellow, red, and orange on a black background to show the concept of protein interaction engineering.

A New Era of Protein Interaction Engineering

New bioengineered protein devices allow near-instant response times, but highlight system needs

Product Focus

A closeup of a female and male scientist working in the lab. The scientists are wearing lab coats and safety glasses and using an ELN on a tablet.

How Semantic Enrichment Is Helping Solve ELN Data Challenges

Semantic enrichment is helping overcome issues associated with vast amounts of unusable ELN data

A closeup of a man's face with reflections of a computer screen on it to illustrate the concept of lab monitoring.

How Scalable Lab Monitoring Systems Can Help Minimize Risks

While scalable laboratory monitoring systems can help minimize risks in the lab, they do come with challenges

A graphic representation of a DNA sequence with vertical lines in shades of pink and blue with a bit of orange, yellow, and green.

Using NGS Tech to Understand Impact of Microbiome on Health

A variety of bacteria resides in our guts and influence our health, such as through adsorption and secretion of metabolites

A closeup of a scientist's glove and rack of sample tubes as the scientist pipettes a sample into a tube.

Improving Detection of Viral Pathogens in Wastewater with dPCR

Leveraging digital PCR to improve detection of viral pathogens in wastewater

How it Works

freezer

Cryogenic Preservation without Liquid Nitrogen

Air phase cryogenic storage can eliminate the need for costly, hazardous liquid nitrogen

Innovations In

A female researcher in a green-white medical gown sits at a mass spectrometer on a long lab bench full of other mass spectrometers.

Innovations in Mass Spectrometry

Important advances in mass spectrometry leading up to the 2021 ASMS conference