Laboratory Operations Management (Minor)

As a Laboratory Operations Management student, you will have opportunities to:

• Conduct faculty-mentored scientific research
• Train with molecular biology and biotechnology instrumentation
• Complete internships, externships, and other professional experiences
• Create scientific posters and potentially present your research at professional conferences
• Study laboratory safety, compliance, operations, and project management
• Explore budgeting, intellectual property, business development, and alliance management
• Develop a professional resume or curriculum vitae

Your learning will extend beyond the classroom through opportunities to participate in faculty-mentored research. Current research opportunities include:

• Using peptide phage display to identify potential binders for an early-stage ovarian cancer diagnostic
• Conducting molecular and epigenetic research using zebrafish as a model
• Applying molecular biology methods such as real-time PCR nucleic acid quantification

Through this work, you will experience the challenges and rewards of scientific research. You will learn to troubleshoot, evaluate data, modify experimental approaches, document your work, and make evidence-based decisions – you will learn to think like a scientist.

Regis students have access to research facilities and biotechnology instrumentation supported in part by funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Training opportunities include:

• Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• Nucleic-acid quantification and characterization
• Biosafety Level 1 and Biosafety Level 2 laboratory practices
• Laboratory safety, compliance, and documentation

You will learn not only how to perform experiments, but also how equipment, training, safety procedures, regulatory requirements, and documentation work together to support responsible and effective research.

Scientific discoveries do not move from the laboratory to patients or the marketplace through science alone. The Laboratory Operations Management minor introduces you to the organizational and business decisions that shape biotechnology and biomedical research. You will explore how scientific organizations manage:

• Projects and programs
• People and teams
• Budgets and resources
• Partnerships and alliances
• Intellectual property
• Timelines, risks, and competing priorities

Through case studies, simulations, and other applied learning experiences, you will practice evaluating scientific and business information, communicating recommendations, and making decisions similar to those encountered in biotechnology and research organizations.

Laboratory Operations Management students apply their training through internships, externships, research placements, and other professional experiences. Regis students have completed experiences with organizations including:

• Massachusetts General Hospital 
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Harvard Medical School-affiliated research laboratories
• Moderna
• Cell Signaling Technology
• Weill Cornell Medicine
• McNeil Scientific
• Shriners Children’s

These experiences can help you work alongside scientists and other professionals while building research, laboratory, operational, and workplace skills.  You can also build professional connections and prepare for the transition to employment or advanced education.

The Laboratory Operations Management minor uses the “4 Ps” model to help students transform classroom and research experiences into professional and scholarly accomplishments:

Poster → Presentation → Patent → Paper

Through research, you may create scientific posters, present at professional conferences, or contribute to publications and intellectual property. These accomplishments can strengthen your professional CV and demonstrate how you have applied what you have learned. Every student who completed the minor during the past six years graduated with a professional CV.

Career preparation is integrated throughout the minor. Individualized faculty guidance can help you develop skills in:

• Resume and CV development
• Cover-letter writing
• Job searching
• Professional communication
• Behavioral interviewing
• The STAR interview method
• Salary and benefits negotiation

You will analyze biotechnology and scientific job descriptions, identify positions that match your qualifications, participate in mock interviews, and practice completing job applications with faculty guidance.  You will learn to communicate not only what you have studied, but also what you have accomplished and can contribute to an organization.

The Laboratory Operations Management minor bridges scientific study and professional practice. You will gain experience in scientific research, laboratory operations, the business of science, professional communication, and career preparation. The knowledge and experience gained through the minor can support careers and advanced study in areas such as:

• Biotechnology and biopharmaceutical research
• Laboratory operations and management
• Biomedical research
• Quality control and quality assurance
• Regulatory affairs and compliance
• Project and program management
• Business development and alliance management
• Clinical and academic research
• Medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, and other graduate or professional fields

• Biotechnology and biopharmaceutical organizations: Regis students and graduates have pursued opportunities with organizations such as Moderna, Eli Lilly, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Sarepta Therapeutics, Adimab, Aktis Oncology, WuXi Biologics, and Evelo Biosciences.
• Academic and biomedical research: Students and graduates have pursued research opportunities with Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard-affiliated laboratories, Boston University, and other academic and medical research centers.
• Graduate and professional education: Graduates have continued their education at institutions including Brown University, Columbia University, UMass Amherst, Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, and Ponce Health Sciences University. Students have also participated in competitive premedical and biomedical research programs.

The Laboratory Operations Management minor is led by Dr. Shannon Hogan, who brings approximately 15 years of biotechnology industry experience and 15 years of academic experience to the classroom and laboratory.