The Modern Lab Leader 2023

As senior vice president and chief research officer for the non-profit UL Research Institutes, Dr. Christopher J. Cramer oversees a broad portfolio of projects all sharing a focus on fundamental and applied safety science research. Cramer’s professional career began with four years of service as an officer in the United States Army, after which he pursued an academic career as a theoretical chemist at the University of Minnesota, where his research group focused on many topics, including catalysis, eco-remediation chemistry, and the synthesis of sustainable polymers. Cramer culminated his service to Minnesota as the institution’s vice president for research and he continues to hold the title of Distinguished McKnight and University Teaching Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Anne Welsh is a clinical psychologist, executive coach, and consultant. Dr. Welsh began her career at Harvard before opening her own practice with a focus on supporting women in STEM and healthcare. Her coaching brings together research and real life experiences to hone leadership skills, improve emotional intelligence and create work-life integration. She can be found at www.drannewelsh.com.

Organic Medicinal Chemist and inventor of antibiotics Nuzyra and Seysara, FDA approved in 2018 and awardee of the 2019 American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry award. Chemical activist and collector building the Amazon of Science at CP Lab Safety and Lab Chemicals in SF Bay Area. From Medicines to Consumer Chemicals, we study all!

Aaron Baer completed his degree in genetics and genomics at UC Davis with a focus on Gene Expression in C. elegans. Aaron is currently a senior implementation lead at QBench. Prior to joining QBench, Aaron was a Sequencing Project Manager for Novogene. In his time as both an academic and private researcher Aaron had the opportunity to learn about a number of methods and strategies for streamlining practices in a laboratory setting.

Stephanie Whitehead is the Executive Director of Pathology at a large health system in South Texas and the podcast co-host of the weekly show “eLABorate Topics”. The “eLABorate Topics” podcast features talks related to the laboratory and leadership focused on helping listeners succeed in their professional lives. Outside of this work, she is a passionate and active leader for several professional organizations. Stephanie currently serves on the Board of Directors for the ASCP as the Chair-Elect for the Council of Laboratory Professionals (CLP) and is an active member of the ASCLS Mentorship, Emerging Laboratory Managers Collaborative Conference Steering Committee, and the Diversity Advocacy Committees. Stephanie also is an editorial board member for Today’s Clinical Lab Magazine. Stephanie has been honored as a 2022 ASCP 40 under 40 and the 2022 ASCLS Voices under 40 laboratory professional. In addition to her career in laboratory medicine, Stephanie plays an active role in the local community through her involvement with the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Junior League of San Antonio, and the Girl Scouts of America.

Melissa Zeier’s career began in a BMS High Throughput Immunoassay lab. She then moved to a preclinical CRO, with roles as a bioanalytical study manager; analytical quality assurance auditor; and business intelligence analyst with the strategic marketing group. Melissa joined Agilent in 2015 as the AFO presales application specialist for ACG digital service products. Melissa moved to the Services Enablement Product Management team in 2021 and managed CrossLab Connect, then Asset Lifecycle Analytics, and collaboration projects. She is now the Director of Product Management for Digital Services Platform Technologies. Melissa has an MS in analytical chemistry and an MA in applied economics

Crystal Welch started her industry journey in large molecule manufacturing and quality, working through several more years in process development and contributing to projects in validation, quality system initiatives, process improvements, product characterization, and regulatory submissions. After more than a decade of being a customer, she then offered consultation and support to the same departments in the field, helping others to accomplish projects in their own facilities. Now she spends her time reading regulatory policy updates, following cutting edge informatics product development, and summarizing user feedback to provide improvement suggestions with the goal to make scientists lives easier.

Ms. Cherie Hodge currently serves as the Director of Instructional Laboratory Operations for Mt San Jacinto College (MSJC) located in the southwest region of Southern California. Ms. Hodge has been with MSJC for 25+ years, beginning her span with MSJC as a student worker in 1996. Ms. Hodge manages the day-to-day operations of the biological and physical sciences laboratories district wide (3 campuses), including managing approximately 20 direct reports. Ms. Hodge is currently overseeing end user expectations of several capital projects which include 2 new STEM buildings under construction at the San Jacinto and Menifee Valley campuses respectively. Director Hodge acts as a liaison between classified professionals, tenured faculty, and administration in many decision-making matters of the sciences. While learning the ropes of management, Ms. Hodge began to understand the importance of Diversity initiatives and true representation. Ms. Hodge’s journey shows that representation matters as she continues to give back to the college and community from which she began.

Vijay Muthukumar currently works as a Global Product Leader & One Source Services Professional at PerkinElmer. Vijay has more than 10 years experience in product management and business development. Vijay has three Masters Degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Oklahoma State University and University of Oklahoma in Business, Microbiology and Molecular Sciences.