Laboratory Manager

• Aug 2018 - Present

Wet Chemistry Department Supervisor

• Oct 2017 - Aug 2018

- Led a team of laboratory analysts in the Wet Chemistry Department by coordinating and prioritizing daily laboratory operations consisting of a wide variety of analytical chemical analyses, including classical wet chemistry, elemental, gravimetric, Kjeldahl nitrogen, spectroscopic, and volumetric titration analytical techniques and methodologies while ensuring the highest standards of compliance with chemical hygiene safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.- Managed and oversaw all day-to-day operational activities of the laboratory with duties that include instrument maintenance and troubleshooting, monitoring of expenses, maintaining all supplies and the chemical inventory to ensure analytical testing will occur on time, and handling of all types of hazardous, biologic, and chemical waste for disposal based on the laboratory Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP).- Hired, trained, and mentored staff on all aspects of company policies and operational procedures related to safety, analytical testing, and quality conformance.- Reviewed and verified analytical testing data for completeness and correctness to ensure that the laboratory is operating in a safe and regulatory compliant manner at all times.- Evaluated, developed, and amended department SOPs to improve workflow processes for production optimization. Also wrote analytical investigation reports, procedure deviations, and prepared modifications to laboratory datasheet templated forms to help with documentation compliance.- Consulted with Customer Service, Laboratory Management, Quality Assurance, Technical Services, and other departments and staff as needed regarding analytical techniques/instrumentation, testing capabilities, production demands, and quality control/regulatory compliance. Also interfaced with the client base to provide technical guidance relevant to analytical production orders.

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Environmental Sciences Division

• Oct 2010 - Jul 2016

- Environmental biochemistry studies focused on determining the fundamental biomolecular mechanisms by which inorganic mercury, a pervasive global pollutant, is transformed by microbes into highly toxic methylmercury within an industrially contaminated creek on the Oak Ridge Reservation with the long-term objective of developing effective strategies to reduce ecological and human exposure to this neurotoxin.- Helped lead the initiative to establish and maintain unique research capabilities and methodologies that directly support experimental research efforts of the Molecular Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanisms of Mercury Transport and Transformations component of the ORNL Mercury Science Focus Area (SFA) environmental research program which is sponsored by the Subsurface Biogeochemical Research (SBR) program within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. http://www.esd.ornl.gov/programs/rsfa- Managed all aspects of the research laboratory space that included monitoring funding and project budgets, maintaining all equipment and instrumentation, overseeing supplies and the chemical inventory, and handling of hazardous and non-hazardous waste for disposal based on institutional chemical hygiene compliance and regulatory environmental safety standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).- Mentored, trained, and coordinated the daily research schedules and activities of multiple DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) and ORNL Higher Education Research Experiences (HERE) program undergraduate student interns and routinely trained other laboratory staff on techniques and instrumentation.

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Spallation Neutron Source

• Apr 2008 - Sep 2010

- Structural biochemical studies of important biological enzymes responsible for bacterial antibiotic resistance to provide new mechanistic insight toward the development of novel antibiotics needed to combat this emerging threat to both humans and animals caused by excessive clinical and agricultural antibiotic use.- Managed all day-to-day operational activities of the research laboratory space that included monitoring supplies and the chemical inventory along with maintaining equipment and instrumentation.- Mentored, trained, and supervised the research of one ORNL-HERE undergraduate intern.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

• May 2005 - Apr 2008

- Structural studies of proteins aimed toward understanding the role of metal and solvent ion coordination with respect to the molecular mechanism of a variety of important enzymes.- Trained both graduate student and postdoctoral researchers in experimental laboratory and computational techniques. Also scheduled and co-supervised in-house X-ray crystallographic data collection for research groups within the Department of Chemistry and for visiting scientists.- Planned and supervised the research of multiple National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program undergraduate college students.

Doctoral Student and Predoctoral Research Fellow

• Aug 1999 - May 2005

- Graduate research aimed at determining the structure and function of a variety of proteins involved in DNA repair and replication processes.- Graduate Teaching Instructor for General Chemistry I and II recitation sections with duties that included preparing lectures, administering quizzes, proctoring, and grading of exams.- Co-instructor of a laboratory component for the graduate-level Macromolecular Crystallography course.- Trained multiple graduate students and one postdoctoral research fellow in experimental laboratory and computational techniques.