The Crucial Role of Operations in Upscaling a Bioscience Company

In this episode, Senior Director of Production Matt Meiners, talks about the importance of lab operations management, touching on matters like infrastructure, documentation, and teamwork from his experience at the leading chromatin biology and epigenetics company, EpiCypher. Operations are foundational to any bioscience company, from the inception of new technologies to their commercial release. Matt emphasizes why documentation is key for a manufacturing lab and how even a small database can provide clarity and save time in the long run. He also shares how lab workers know where to make improvements and why empowering them benefits the company.

Tune in to this episode and learn more about how operations enhance this bioscience company!

Summary:

An Operations team can upscale an entire company by providing a steady framework for growth.

About Matt Meiners:

Matt is a protein biochemist with a strong background in protein-DNA interactions. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from East Carolina University. Matt went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, studying DNA damage and repair mechanisms. Matt joined EpiCypher in 2014 as a Research Scientist and has led EpiCypher’s efforts in the production of nucleosomes and nucleosome-based technologies. 

Matt’s career at EpiCypher has offered unique insights into how new products are brought through early development and into full commercialization.  From the innovation, through development and pilot scale, to full production, the tools and resources that EpiCypher brings to the chromatin biology and epigenetics market all pass through the Production Team.  As EpiCypher grows, the need for more in-depth operational information gathering is of the utmost importance, and the Production Team is working to expand EpiCypher’s capabilities to continue to bring new cutting-edge products to the field.

Things You’ll Learn:

• EpiCypher works with synthetic biochemistry to find new nucleosome uses in chromatin biology. 
• Documentation saves time by helping to avoid making the same mistakes twice in manufacturing.
• An Excel file or Google Sheets document that one can share is a good alternative for a lab that doesn’t have a system in place. 
• Using shared documents allows data to be tracked and easily accessible by anyone needing it.
• A good idea solves a specific problem and offers data-driven ways to implement it.
• 80% of the problems come from 20% of the material one works with. 
• A very beneficial way to innovate when one is an expert on something is to become an expert on different things, bring those components together, and blend that expertise to make improvements.

Resources:

• Connect with and follow Matt Meiners on LinkedIn.
• Follow EpiCypher on LinkedIn.
• Visit the EpiCypher Website!
• Listen to Andrea Johnstone, Senior Director of Product Development at EpiCypher, discuss innovation in epigenetics with us here!
• Connect with and follow co-host Kerri Anderson on LinkedIn.
• Connect with and follow co-host Samantha Black on LinkedIn.