Q&A with Holden Galusha, Lab Manager

For our latest journalist Q&A, we spoke with Holden Galusha, Associate Editor at Lab Manager. Holden gives his thoughts on how AI is changing the way labs operate and his tips for pitching stories to the publication.

How did you get into journalism

It was a bit of a winding path. I had always enjoyed writing and storytelling, but I decided to pursue computer programming when I was in high school because “no one makes any money as a writer!” I worked my way through college at a company that sold used/refurbished laboratory equipment. I saw this as an opportunity to do professional writing and kickstarted our content marketing efforts. I taught myself how to report, interview SMEs, and tailor articles for a particular audience in this role. This evolved into freelancing for Lab Manager magazine, and a year later I joined the team full-time as associate editor. I have an associate degree in computer programming but have only ever worked as a professional writer since.

Can you tell us more about Lab Manager?

Most lab managers have no formal training in management. They were originally bench scientists who were promoted to the role because they were good at the science, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to being good at management. So, Lab Manager is dedicated to helping scientific business leaders make smart decisions and “run their lab like a business.” Every article we produce is angled to allow our readers make a decision or otherwise improve their lab’s operations - whether it’s soft skills like leadership and training or technical skills like troubleshooting a mass spectrometer effectively. Over the past few years, I’ve been working to expand our coverage of software/informatics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.

How do you see new technologies, such as AI and data informatics, transforming the way labs operate?

There are really two ways AI will affect labs: (1) accelerating scientific discovery and (2) streamlining lab operations. Most of the attention, especially in the newscycle, is on the former. But there’s a lot of potential in the latter, too—data is the lifeblood of AI, and labs generate a lot of data. Every day, I discover more startups dedicated to helping labs take their existing data out of silos and feed them into an AI model that can help streamline inventory management, forecast maintenance/repair, and more.

Ultimately, AI will help labs run more efficiently and make better-informed decisions than ever before if the labs can get their data in a standardized, accessible format to train AI models on. This may prove to be a larger challenge than implementing AI, itself.

Looking ahead, what topics in life sciences do you think will gain the most momentum for the rest of this year and into 2026?

I’m biased because my coverage focuses so much on digital technology, but I see data management and AI as being huge topics. With the shenanigans that the Trump administration is pulling, however, I also predict that hard discussions around funding and research grants—as well as a brain drain of talent looking to move out of the United States to find more stable employment—will continue to take place. It is an uncertain time for scientists, for sure.

Any advice for PRs out there that want to pitch stories to Lab Manager?

1. Look to see if we’ve published anything similar to your pitch within the past year or so
2. Make sure that your pitch has actionable advice. An exploration of a topic isn’t sufficient for our readers—it must contain a takeaway that helps readers make a decision for their lab.
3. We’d appreciate more pitches around laboratory equipment and instrumentation!

What is your biggest frustration within the PR community?

This isn’t a frustration with the PR community, more so with their clients. I encounter companies who don’t appear to want their technical subject matter experts talking to the press, so the CEO or CMO speaks on behalf of them. But oftentimes the best insights come straight from the source. I would advise more companies let SMEs talk to the press rather than a C-suite acting as the spokesperson in every interview.

Who would you most like to interview, and why?

I can’t pick one favorite, but I have a few: John Carmack. He’s basically a demigod in the computer science community and seems like an all-around nice guy. Interviewing a sitting or former president may be cool, too, for the bragging rights (Doesn’t really matter which president). Finally, the music nerd in me says Bruce Springsteen I want to ask him about Nebraska, specifically.