"If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there" -- Martin Luther

Once in my early days as a bench chemist, lab notebooks were collected to serve as evidence in a patent law suit. This experience put the fear into me. I learned a lesson in all aspects of documentation and in reporting defensible data.

PIs have an abundance of responsibilities, serving on academic committees, teaching, running a lab, writing papers and grants, and management duties are some of the requirements. In this maze of tasks, it's easy to forget one of the most important aspects of the job–mentoring.

The pace of change and growth in the pharmaceutical and biotech environment means that most companies face the daunting task of relocating laboratories at some stage in their development

Employees often have ideas to help make their companies more productive and profitable. An employee involvement program is not merely a variation on the "suggestion box" but an opportunity to improve process and outcomes.

A microscopy facility can serve to promote the research goals of an institution. However, successful operation includes planning for and addressing issues such as fees, access, data control, safety, and even VIP tours.

All laboratories have different research needs, technology requirements, and workflow patterns. Because of these unique features, each lab manager is tasked with what can be a difficult decision whether to bolster the lab with the assistance of a third-party facility or to do the work in-house.

A growing number of scientists are working for firms designing software that models chemical and physical processes.

Microarray manufacturing is an area that is plagued with numerous technical challenges due, in part, to the complexity of the systems involved and to the variety of proteins and potential assays used.

In recent years, the growing trend to resolving workload jams and bottlenecks within laboratories has been to rely on automation. But is machinery and automation really the answer, or is the problem more deeply seated? Could the issues instead be resolved by looking at the processes and methods of working?

Both big and small labs have many problems in common but often use different methods to solve them.