Holly Hung.

Firstly, I work with the Applications and Sales teams to organize and run on site instrument demos for our mosquito and dragonfly instruments. I also provide training to new and existing customers.

At SPT Labtech we want to enable scientists to become more efficient with the use of our instruments. By distributing product knowledge, application techniques and best practices, I am able to achieve this for our customers. We endeavor to improve our products and we accomplish this by collecting feedback from customers. I build and maintain relationships with all our customers to understand any potential product and support issues and application trends so that I can create an effective feedback loop to the Research and Development team.

To be successful as a FAS you must have a love of travel, great communication skills, and a strong attention to technical detail.

I am part of a team of Field Applications Scientists (FAS).

Our team of Field Applications Scientists provide instrument and software demonstrations which give scientists the opportunity to visualize how our technology fits with their workflows with the end goal of eliminating tedious lab processes. We assist with instrument installation, provide customized applications training and help with experiment design and protocol optimization. We strive to ensure all our customers have a great experience with SPT Labtech and that’s why we are always on hand to provide technical and applications support.

First and foremost, I enjoy helping various scientific groups find new ways to conduct their science more effectively and efficiently. I also get the opportunity to travel often and I love this aspect of my job.

From an education standpoint, my earliest achievement was getting my bachelors in Biochemistry and then later my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pathology. All my professional job roles have also been rewarding. In my role as an Analytical Chemist at a Contract Research Organization, I was able to help with safety testing for a common allergy medication. My postdoctoral work characterized cancer patient molecular profiles for better treatment selection, and now through SPT Labtech I am able to make a difference in COVID-19 testing through facilitating automation of viral testing with our customers.

My long-term professional goals are to become a good leader and to make a difference scientifically in the lives of others. In the short term, I work on leadership through putting myself in positions to teach and train others and learn from the excellent leadership around me and their years of experience.

I have always worked for organizations that provide support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Much of the work in science can be caught up in the small details, so it helps me to keep an eye on the bigger picture of how the work will be useful to others.

SPT Labtech provides an incredible opportunity to work with cutting edge research laboratories and through my position as an Application Scientist, I contribute to making a scientific difference in many meaningful ways.

I have always had a curiosity about the natural world and it translated to early ease and success in the topic. I’ve also been fortunate to have a scientific and medically oriented family that has supported and encouraged my interest in science.

I got my bachelors in Biochemistry, then went to work for a Contract Research Organization (CRO) as an Analytical Chemist. In this position I used chemical extraction methods to track drug metabolites by LC-MS/MS. To progress in this role, I applied to my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI for my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pathology. My thesis topic explored shared factors that direct peripheral nervous system development and regeneration from injury.

From here I took an interest in large genomic projects and bioinformatics. This led to accepting a post-doctoral fellowship position at the University of Michigan in the medical school endocrine department to further study the subject. My initial project covered parsing data from The Cancer Gene Atlas (TCGA) pan-genomics database for distinguishing factors between outcomes in rare endocrine cancer. This project expanded when I received a competitively funded engineering fellowship to develop a 3D tumor modeling system using structural biomaterials.

Outside of work my husband and I enjoy competitive ballroom dancing at a national championship level. We also like to spend our time brewing, mead-making and beekeeping.