On behalf of the Association of Laboratory Managers (ALMA), we would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! We appreciate your continued support of our organization over the last few difficult years and look forward to continued engagement with the laboratory leadership community. ALMA is a unique nonprofit organization of volunteer laboratory leaders who are passionate about sharing their professional experiences and knowledge in an effort to create an environment of continuous learning and development.
Despite the challenges of 2021 and our inability to hold a traditional live conference, ALMA had an exciting year of free webinars and panel discussions on subjects ranging from implementing the digital laboratory, networking, and effective communication skills. In addition, ALMA’s community of leaders grew at a record pace. While challenges remain in 2022, we are excited to announce that ALMA will once again be able to offer a live, in-person, interactive conference. As with previous ALMA conferences, this year’s will consist of workshops, vendor exhibits, and presentations on topics relevant to laboratory leaders. The conference will be engaging and informative and we are very excited to see everyone again this fall. Stay tuned for more details as we invite lab leaders of various levels and disciplines to go back to school with ALMA2022@UNC-Chapel Hill October 11-13, 2022.
Lastly, we are pleased to announce ALMA’s new president, Thad Gurley. Thad is Associate Research Laboratory Manager of the Accessioning Unit and Biorepository at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. Thad also manages the Accessioning Unit Core, is a member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute Shared Resource Core Facility, and is the Manager of the Duke Student SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance Upstream Processing Team. Thad received his Bachelor of Science in Zoology from North Carolina State University and his Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He was the 2020 and 2021 ALMA Program Chair and has been an active ALMA member since 2018, specifically leading ALMA’s virtual webinar programs. Please join us in congratulating Thad on his new role with ALMA!
If you are interested in becoming a part of our organization or learning how you can contribute, please email us here.
- Christie Bowden, ALMA Immediate Past President
- John Sadowski, ALMA Executive Director