Lab Design Conference Speaker Profile: Gwendolyn Robles
2026 Lab Design Conference speaker—Gwendolyn Robles, MLS(ASCP), MBA, executive director of laboratory services at Baptist Health Jacksonville
Gwendolyn Robles, MLS(ASCP), MBA, executive director of laboratory services at Baptist Health Jacksonville, will present at the 2026 Lab Design Conference in Orlando, FL. Her session, “No, We Can't Put It on a Barge: Lessons from a Landlocked Blood Bank Renovation,” takes place May 12 from 1:30–2:30 pm ET and features insights from Gwendolyn alongside colleagues Marsha Pace and Aaron Odegard.
The team will share how they transformed a 1970s, landlocked lab into a modern, fully functional blood bank, offering strategies, best practices, and lessons learned—such as virtual walkthroughs, site visits, and LEAN-driven workflow optimization—while highlighting how to navigate leadership changes, adapt to challenges, and create a space that empowers staff and celebrates successes.
Register for the Lab Design Conference before December 31, 2025, to take advantage of early-bird pricing for your full conference ticket.
Lab Design News spoke to Gwen about advocating for lab resources, inspiring her daughters through home lab experiments, and turning daunting challenges into creative opportunities. Read more about Gwen’s insights and register today to secure your spot for the conference!
Q: What makes your Lab Design Conference talk especially relevant to the current trends and challenges in laboratory design?
A: In the lab, we’re constantly fighting for the space, equipment, and recognition we need to deliver high-quality care. Balancing cost-per-test pressures with the demand for accuracy and speed, while rarely being prioritized as a true clinical environment is challenging. As a profession, we must be both strong advocates and good stewards. Every dollar and square foot we secure must work hard for us, with efficiency and future growth in mind. Most of us will only get one shot at designing or redesigning a lab in our careers and we need to get it right the first time.
Q: Why should lab design and operations professionals attend your session, and what will they gain from it?
A: Our laboratory challenges mirror those of many health systems. We’ve had rapid service growth without parallel investments in lab infrastructure. In the blood bank expansion project, we’ll share highlights what happens when you can’t move off-site and can’t stop serving patients for a single moment. Attendees will see how our team navigated those constraints with creativity, collaboration, and a healthy dose of humor. Laugh before you cry or laugh while you’re crying—either way, we found joy in the chaos.
Q: What’s one soft skill you believe every lab design professional should cultivate, and why?
A: Storytelling. Every project has a story, why it matters, who it helps, and what it makes possible. The technical details are important, but they don’t move hearts. Passion does. The moment you can make people feel the purpose behind your project, everything changes. Budgets shift, walls move, and teams rally. Storytelling turns a good idea into a shared mission, and it’s the single most powerful tool you have to turn passive participants into advocates.
Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies or interests outside of work?
A: Outside of work, I run an unofficial lab with my two daughters, ages five and seven. The girls have tiny lab coats and conduct highly questionable kitchen experiments, which we document in crayon in our home lab notebook. When we’re not investigating why cupcakes collapse, I like to decompress with guilty-pleasure playlists and crocheting something that looks vaguely like a doily my great-grandmother would have made.
Register now to secure your ticket to the 2026 Lab Design Conference!
