What 2025 Taught Lab Managers about Sustainable Progress

Originally published in Lab Manager.

By Inga Rose, Founder & CEO, Reference Medicine

Looking back at 2025, scientific research made undeniable progress. But for many laboratories, the year felt anything but straightforward. Advances in molecular testing, data analytics, and new innovations moved quickly while the operational environment surrounding laboratory work became more constrained, unpredictable, and resource-intensive.

For lab managers, this disconnect was defining. Innovation accelerated at the same time that funding uncertainty, supply chain volatility, workforce pressures, and regulatory ambiguity made it harder to adopt or scale new capabilities. The result was a year of forward motion that often felt nonlinear: progress in science paired with friction in execution.

As laboratories head into 2026, success will depend less on chasing every emerging technology and more on strengthening the operational foundations that allow innovation to be adopted responsibly and sustainably.