Abstract
“Our ‘Friends of ALA’ program has opened doors and established strategic alliances that are taking more meaningful shape as we move forward.”
ALA is the only organization devoted entirely to exploring the research, development, application, and integration of lab technologies by sharing advances in the development of cutting edge automated lab instruments, devices, software algorithms, lab methodologies, cost versus benefit analyses, and more. Because of this, we attract members from a variety of industries, and although at a glance, they may seem quite disparate, there are many more similarities than differences.
As our organization continues to grow and expand its reach and impact throughout scientific communities, we encounter more and more opportunities for productive partnerships. To date, we have paired successfully with many organizations. Our “Friends of ALA” program has opened doors and established strategic alliances that are taking more meaningful shape as we move forward.
In the last few months, I personally have met with more than a dozen different organizations on behalf of ALA, including the Association for Molecular Pathology, Association for Pathology Informatics, International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories, American Society of Human Genetics, American Society for Nephrology, American Medical Informatics Association, American Society for Microbiology, American Association for Pharmaceutical Scientists, and the American Society for Hematology.
Each of these groups includes members to whom ALA can be a pertinent and important resource. For those whose job is to manage scientific laboratories and processes, ALA can help them stay abreast of new developments and improvements in technologies that can help them to better organize their lab operations and prepare for emerging technologies. Regardless of whether they are developing new cures for cancer, weather-resistant soybeans, or fruit-flavored shampoos, ALA can help them to increase productivity, elevate experimental data quality, reduce process cycle times, and enable experimentation that would otherwise be impossible (Fig. 1).
Regardless of whether scientists are developing new cures for cancer or fruit-flavored shampoos, ALA can help them increase productivity, elevate experimental data quality, reduce process cycle times, and enable experimentation that would otherwise be impossible.
ALA can do this by inviting them to participate in our membership, and by taking our “show on the road,” delivering education and information to their doorsteps … their conferences, their journals, and their Web sites. In exchange, their participation can help our organization grow stronger. There is strength in numbers and perspective in diversity. We all benefit when more and more different lab automation professionals become active and involved in our organization. ALA and its members also benefit when, in turn, other organizations allow us access to their established infrastructure.
One recent example of this kind of bottom line member benefit is the new “ALA Career Connections” program. This multidimensional program brings qualified job candidates face-to-face with prospective employers. Filling and finding positions within lab automation's unique professional niche can be a difficult challenge. Thanks to a mutually beneficial alliance with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, we have been able to take this important step forward in serving both individual employees and corporate employers. For more information, visit http://labautomation.org.
We hope you will share our enthusiasm and take advantage of new ALA programs as they become available. As ALA's scope strengthens, so too does its potential to contribute to the success of its individual members. The opportunities are created with you in mind. Please take them.
Sincerely,
