Recruiting Lab Staff that Will Grow Your Cannabis Testing Business
The rapid growth of the cannabis industry has provided an opportunity for scientists to be part of an emerging high demand field. Cannabis labs face a significant challenge in determining appropriate employee qualifications based on the wide variety of required testing platforms. These broad qualifications lead to challenges recruiting qualified applicants. Strategies for developing a highly qualified workforce and providing on going professional development to keep pace with the rapidly evolving industry will be presented.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Strategies for developing a highly qualified workforce
- Approaches for rapid workflow specific training
- Utilizing partnerships with instrument vendors
Who Should Attend:
- Future or current cannabis lab managers
- Future or current cannabis testing lab analysts and chemists
- Entrepreneurs considering starting a cannabis testing lab
For any technical questions please contact Jordan Ramesh: [email protected]
Presenter: Benjamin J Southwell (Assistant Professor of Bio-Analytical Chemistry, Lake Superior State University)
Benjamin Southwell holds a bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemistry from Lake Superior StateUniversity (LSSU) and Central Michigan University, respectively. With over 15 years in an educational experience, he currently teaches courses in Forensic Science, Instrumental Analysis, and Cannabis Chemistry. Additionally, he manages Superior Analytics, a university supported commercial laboratory with a focus on cannabis and environmental analyses. His current research focuses on studying the analytics of cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis products as the Coordinator for the LSSU Cannabis Center of Excellence.
Presenter: Derek Wright, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Lake Superior State University)
Dr. Derek Wright is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Lake Superior State University. Dr. Wright earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Rutgers University in 2008, with an emphasis of the biogeochemical cycles of trace elements in the marine systems. In his more than 20 years of experience with trace element analysis, he has extensive experience in ICP-MS (quadrupole and sector field), ICP-OES, MP-AES, and AAS. He has utilized these techniques for the accurate and precise measurement of challenging sample types such as seawater, hydrothermal vent fluids, atmospheric deposition, biological tissues, soils, foods, and sediments.
During his time at LSSU, he has served as chair for the School of Physical Sciences, and taught coursework in Environmental Science, Environmental Chemistry, and Environmental Health. In addition to trace element analysis his research also utilizes microbial source tracking methods.
