Best Lab Manager Award

Roberta Nowak

La Jolla Institute for Immunology

United States

"Roberta is by far the best lab manager imaginable. She has an incredibly charismatic personality that she brings to lab, daily, which has been especially helpful in the mentally impactful times of the past year or two during COVID..."

Patrycja Kamila Kuzma

Institute of Physical Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences

Poland

"I have never met a lab manager so dedicated, competent, and efficient as Patrycja...Her enthusiasm for work, supporting colleagues from the lab in crisis moments, and management skills always inspires us..."  

Kamakshi Sishtla

Indiana University 

United States

"Kamakshi is a very efficient and extraordinarily helpful lab manager... She is the rock star of our lab, she knows what we need before even we ask for anything. Her tremendous role in managing the lab makes all the trainees work stress free..."

Shannon Becker

University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

United States

"Shannon is the best lab manager a lab could ever ask for. We are a glia lab. Interestingly, the term glia comes from the Greek word γλία which means glue in English. That is literally what Shannon is to this lab. She is the glue that keeps the team together up and running..."

Lester Torres Cadenas 

NIH

United States

"Lester is a superhuman multitasking lab manager. He is happy everyday, a ray of sunshine just like the ones (he regularly reminds us) that bounce off his shiny bald head! His positive attitude, warm and friendly demeanour, and infinite helpfulness make coming into lab every day a joy. And don’t get me started on the amazing flan he makes for our birthdays…"

The prize

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

All finalists will receive a Kindle.

2020 Winner

Otto Braeunling, Heidelberg University, Germany

"Winning this award is a wonderful surprise for me and this was only possible with the best lab team, which makes our lab an enjoyable place to work"

Otto received hundreds of votes from colleagues and friends who all appreciate his hard work as a lab manager. Otto has won a $1000 research grant and a lab care package.

2019 Winner

Julien Weber,  University of Zurich , Switzerland

"Winning the Best Lab Manager Award is wonderful, and it moves me that is was made possible thanks to such wonderful team work!" - Julien Weber

Julien received over 500 votes from colleagues and friends who all appreciate his excellent approach to managing the lab at the Department of Quantitative BioMedecine, University of Zurich.

Julien has won a $1000 research grant and a lab care package.

2018 Winner

Kelley Brodsky, University of Colorado - Denver, US

"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)

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.