A day in the life of an academic lab coordinator

Lab coordinators are the backbone of a university lab – they keep things moving and make sure everyone has what they need to do their work effectively. Recently, we spoke with one of our customers who is a Lab Coordinator at a large university to learn more about her day-to-day life.

How would you describe your role in the lab?

Customer: I support academic classes in the chemistry department at the university. I do the purchasing and keep track of inventory. I’m also responsible for prepping the labs and making sure all the supplies are set up appropriately when the professors and students arrive. We want the students to walk in and have everything they need right there and not have to worry about making solutions, worrying where their chemicals are, or getting their glassware. I help researchers and some PI’s with their purchasing too and am also responsible for maintaining the lab space and instrumentation.

How many people do you support?

Customer: I would say I support 22 academic labs, 12 researchers, and work with about 40 faculty and staff members to keep things running smoothly. Right now, I have 8 busy researchers who are constantly ordering things. One faculty member recently received a grant and he’s been ordering a lot of Thermo Scientific Lab Ovens to dehydrate inorganics, which he orders directly from me.

That seems like a lot to keep track of! How do you do it?

Customer: It definitely is! I usually coordinate with the professors at the beginning of a semester to understand their schedules so that I can plan and make sure we have what is needed by a specific date and then know what we’re setting up in the lab each day. I have 4 lab technicians who help me with getting the labs set up, which is great. The researchers are always super busy and are constantly needing to order supplies. I keep their inventory, order, and delivery everything for them.

With so many people to keep happy, how do you do your ordering?

Customer: I keep everything organized for the faculty, which isn’t easy. If a schedule changes because the course work moves around, it can be difficult to pace with the lectures and the work that aligns to it, and to keep the Thermo Scientific Chemicals and other products that are needed for lab work ready. We order a lot of Thermo Scientific products – I have a great relationship with our sales rep. He is always available to answer questions and help me. He is critical to my day-to-day.

What is your favorite part of what you do?

Customer: Absolutely no day is the same – it keeps things interesting!

Note: this blog post is based on an anonymous customer interview given on March 14, 2022.

 

To learn more about products and solutions for academic research, visit thermofisher.com/academiclabs.

For Laboratory Use. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that the performance of the product is suitable for customers’ specific use or application.