Inside Central Lab

What this team does

Builds the kits sites use to collect samples, and ships them out.

Receives the samples, tests them, and sends results to sites and the data team.

Keeps every tube traceable, cold when it must be, from the arm to the freezer.

A day here

1. 6:00Overnight deliveries. 400 tubes from 30 sites, checked against the manifest.
2. 8:30One box arrived warm. The temperature logger shows four hours above range.
3. 9:15You tell the site and the CRA. The samples are marked and the site must redraw.
4. 12:00Kit build for a new study. 1,200 kits, every label checked against the visit schedule.
5. 15:00Results upload to the data team. One site's IDs do not match. You call before you send.

Roles, junior to senior

• Kit production technician
• Sample logistics coordinator
• Lab technician or scientist
• Lab project manager
• Lab data specialist

1. Kit production technicianBuilding and labelling kits for each visit of each study.Investigational Product
2. Sample logistics coordinatorShipping, couriers, temperature and customs for samples.Investigational ProductStudy Conduct and Operational Execution
3. Lab technician or scientistRunning the tests on study samples and checking the results.Investigational ProductSource Documentation and Data Integrity
4. Lab project managerThe lab side of a study: kits, timelines and the sponsor's questions.Clinical Trial ManagerInvestigational ProductCommunication
5. Lab data specialistGetting results into the right format and to the data team.Clinical Data ManagerClinical Systems and Data WorkflowSource Documentation and Data Integrity

Who they talk to every day

• Site 204
• Home Visit Hub
• Data Works
• Project Tower
• Terminal C

Words you will hear

Central lab

One lab that tests samples from every site, so results compare.

Requisition

The form that travels with the sample and says what it is.

Manifest

The list of every sample in a shipment.

Excursion

Time outside the allowed temperature.

Aliquot

A sample split into smaller tubes.

Chain of custody

The record of who held a sample and when.

Common moves in and out

People come from hospital labs, warehouses, science degrees and couriers.

From here they move to lab project management, CRA work or data roles.