Armando serves as the Lab Manager at A Working Lab KI Science Park at Campus Solna and Flemingsberg, with a mission to facilitate and develop our laboratory environments for member companies.
You work as a Lab Manager, what does that involve?
"In broad terms, it's about facilitating laboratory environments for research and development. Here at A Working Lab, this means ensuring that both the private and the public labs in our facilities in Solna and Flemingsberg are equipped and functioning optimally. Our goal is for our members to always be able to carry out their work successfully in the labs, which requires a lot of organization and good routines."
What does a typical workday look like?
"Every day is different, depending on the needs of our companies. I work closely with our Site Manager, and we start each morning by checking in together. Our communication is vital for both daily work and for the projects where we collaborate. About once a week, we showcase the environments to new companies or startups that are curious to learn more about what we offer. Naturally, there's a fair amount of administration too, with new agreements to be written, emails to be answered, and problem-solving. And there are plenty of meetings as well, with our sister sites in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Umeå, along with partners and supporters, and with our members."
What's the most enjoyable part of working here?
"The best part is all the encounters with our members. We have members from all corners of the world, with different professional backgrounds and at various stages in the development of their companies, and it's science that brings us together here at A Working Lab."
What challenges do you face?
"My biggest challenge is finding time for everything I want to do and develop at A Working Lab."
Education and previous work:
Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on biocatalytic organic synthesis and analytical chemistry from University College London. Then worked as a postdoctoral researcher in cancer research (focusing on the synthesis of new drugs, as well as evaluation with both biochemical and cell-based assays) at the University of Oxford and Karolinska Institute. Before A Working Lab: clinical chemistry at Karolinska University Hospital with a mission to develop, validate, and oversee new bioanalytical methods based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).