The MDL operates laboratories in Brown’s BioMedical Center, at 85 Waterman St. (home to the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and the Plant Environmental Center) and at the medical school.

Every day is a new adventure for the three senior technical specialists and a technical assistant who work with Toth. In the morning, they check the schedule to see which labs are running and set them up long before students arrive. They may assist in sessions, and then they dismantle labs that have concluded. They also convert spaces into whatever lab the faculty needs.

“During the regular semester, a room could be hosting a genetics lab one day, an invertebrate zoology the next day or later in that same day,” said Erin Berry, a senior technical specialist who has a Master’s degree in genetics and has been with the MDL for four years. “And during the summer, you could find the same room hosting a materials engineering lab, then next a marine biology lab and then for the last session a molecular biology lab. Brown needs the MDL to be able to support all these different kinds of labs.”

The MDL team handles budgets and procurement for 40 biology courses, acquiring items and ensuring safe and appropriate use and operation. They also store and steward supplies — understanding, for example, when one reagent needs to be in a freezer at -80 degrees while another needs the temperature set at -20 degrees.

“We’re like a small company,” Toth said. “We might be supporting a lab that’s studying cancer research, another that’s focusing on ecology — maybe there are 30 lab courses doing different types of research, but we need to make sure they all have what they need, and that they’re following the same safety rules and procedures.”

Setting students up for success in the lab

Twice a year, the MDL team hosts a workshop in which they set up practice exercises designed to help students master basic lab techniques.

“It’s an opportunity for students who might not have a background in science, or who haven’t spent much time in the lab, to get comfortable with equipment and learn techniques at their own pace,” said Senior Technical Specialist and Teaching Associate Kelly Cleveland.

The MDL started holding the workshops in 2014, and they became even more essential after the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily kept many students out of high schools. While over 200 students usually attend the session in the fall semester, the spring group tends to be smaller.

At a workshop in April, the team set up six stations where students could practice micropipetting, centrifugation, microscopy, aseptic technique and solution prep.

“This is lab playtime,” Cleveland announced to a dozen or so students who gathered for the workshop. “You’re allowed to do anything you want, as long as it’s safe! We’re here to help. No grades or pressure.”

Dakota Clay, a Brown junior and an MDL undergraduate lab assistant wearing a name tag that said, “Most Awesome Helper Ever,” moved among the microscopes, providing cheerful assistance. She had taken the skills workshop in her sophomore year.

“It gives you a better grip on lab skills and solidified what I’ve been taught in other labs,” said Clay, who is concentrating in immunobiology and plans to attend medical school. Clay then became a lab assistant to take her skills to the next level. “The best way to see what you’ve learned is whether you can show others how to do it!”

At the two micropipette stations, students learned how to precisely measure and transfer very small volumes of liquid — a technique useful in DNA analysis and electrophoresis, as well as when working with cell cultures. They weigh and measure the liquid and then use the tool to extract fluid from a beaker and dispense a specified amount on a well plate.

“A lot of students struggle with micropipetting when they’re new to the technique,” said Liz Lavigne, a senior technical specialist and teaching associate. “There is actually a fair amount of ergonomics involved to be able to perform the technique with precision and consistency.”

Ashley Toby, a junior concentrating in public health, and health and human biology, appreciated the ability to practice at her own pace: “Now I’ll feel more confident doing lab research. Considering I’ve spent a lot of time in public health classes, it’s also a way to reaffirm that I belong in the lab, too.”

Creating an exciting learning environment in the lab

The MDL team supports molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, an introductory biology course, a physiology course for pre-med students, invertebrate zoology and several course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) courses, which involve semester-long projects that simulate the experience of working in a research lab.

Peter Belenky, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, teaches the CURE course Fermentation to Publication: Experimental Food Microbiology, in which students conduct a scientific experiment involving experimental microbiology as well as computational analysis. Last year they focused on kimchi, and this year on fermented African breads. One MDL associate is assigned to the class for the entire semester and is on hand to guide the students in proper equipment use so that Belenky can focus on helping them reach the goal of submitting a manuscript for publication based on their findings.

“We need careful control at the level that would be publishable,” Belenky said. “That is made possible with the assistance of the MDL staff. Having the MDL staff in the class allows me to focus on teaching and guiding the students through discovery.”

The paper from Belenky 2025 class was published in the journal Foods, and he is still waiting to hear if the 2026 paper has been accepted.

The team earns rave reviews, like this one from an anonymous survey of instructors during Fall 2024: "Everyone is very capable and professional, yet also friendly and positive. The entire tech staff is exceptional, covering everything from basic setup to contributing to the planning of lab exercises."

Toth taught biology at Providence College before coming to Brown in 2023.

“I know from experience that teaching a lab course can be time-intensive, and having the MDL at Brown providing support for the labs and the students allows for instructors to think bigger and focus on scientific discovery,” Toth said.

Last spring Toth led Modeling Human Disease Using Stem Cells, a Collaborative Research and Scholarly Experiences-designated course that gave students the chance to design a research project using stem cells to explore Alzheimer's disease and to perform related volunteer work within the community.

Other MDL associates have opportunities to earn certificates in teaching and lead classes of their own.

Lavigne not only teaches many of the summer programs for high school students but also co-teaches Phage Hunters, a course geared toward providing first-year Brown students the opportunity to isolate, cultivate and purify a bacteriophage from the local environment.

Cleveland, who is trained as a biochemist, co-teaches Inquiry in Biochemistry: From Gene to Protein Function. She’s been with the MDL for 13 years and says her role has expanded over time.

“As a co-instructor, I’m able to guide the pedagogy more and play a bigger role in training students — really help them have the best learning experience,” Cleveland said.

Every so often, Cleveland will run into a former student who has interacted with the MDL.

“They’ll be like, ‘Oh, you help run the technique workshop,’ or maybe they were a medical student who came to the MDL to do gram-staining,” Cleveland said. “They always seem to have fond memories. That makes me feel good about what we do.”