People are our Chemistry

At Eurofins Bio-Pharma Product Testing, we believe that our people provide our strength. Their dedicationto quality, professional competence and hard work are the key elements in the company’s success. In this regular feature, we introduce you to some of the people who have helped make Eurofins an industry leader.

Jennifer Foote brings a vast range of scientific and life experience to her role as Manager of Microbiology and Site Operations at the Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing site in Portage, MI. After Jennifer earned a BS and MS in biochemistry in the ROTC program and became a medical support officer, she kept feeling the pull of getting back to what she was passionate about. “My calling is R&D and laboratory testing, from benchwork to process improvement to training others,” Jennifer says. “With the goal of providing the best data integrity to clients, I really enjoy scrutinizing a current process and critical steps and making it error proof, risk free and user-friendly,” she adds. When Jennifer is not helping run EBPT’s Portage Lab, she’s running marathons, cooking with her daughter/hanging out with kids, and training their new puppy. Here’s a slice of Jennifer’s life:

What is the scope of your group?

My group consists of the microbiology department as well as the laboratory operational support teams at the Portage, MI, site. The microbiology department provides non-sterile products testing to include bioburden, microbial limits, water activity, environmental monitoring, process water testing, and antimicrobial effectiveness testing for pharmaceutical materials and drug products. The laboratory support team provide project management services, metrology, technical training, and LEAN process improvements to the Portage site.

What process improvements does your group initiate to serve clients better?

Several LEAN improvements have been implemented at the Portage site in the past year. Examples include streamlining the process for data review assignments to provide better management tools and automating quarterly trending reports to reduce transcription errors. In our microbiology department, we are currently restructuring the process flow and notification system for our media preparations.

Why should clients trust us with their projects?

Our team has a dedicated focus toward providing quality in our daily activities while ensuring client turnaround times are still met. We continue to add service offerings at the site to better support our clients. The microbiology department will soon begin offering disinfectant efficacy and microbial hold time challenge studies to our current testing portfolio.

You’ve been here for 3 years and seen countless changes. Is there anything that hasn’t changed during your tenure?

During my tenure at Eurofins I have seen significant progression in our internal systems to monitor performance and provide meaningful feedback within our teams for improvement. One item that has not changed is the collaborative team spirit of our employees. With the addition of a dedicated site LEAN engineer we have seen several great ideas shared from employees for new process improvements.

And when you’re not working?

When I’m not working I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family and teaching my children the love of cooking. One benefit of living in Michigan is the close proximity to lakes of all sizes. We frequently enjoy exploring the waterways in our area by kayak and paddle board. My two little sous chefs are always ready to assist in the kitchen.