Nicolas Wolnick

Background

About Nicolas Wolnick

I am a results-oriented scientist and operations team lead passionate about the intersection of molecular biology, digital systems, and strategic innovation. My educational background is in Cell and Molecular Biology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.Currently, I serve as the Acceleration and Operations Lead within the Strategic Innovation Accelerator at Lonza Biologics R&D in Bend, Oregon. In this role, I oversee lab and project operations for a cross-functional team focused on evaluating the scientific feasibility and business value of novel technologies. My work includes:Scientific Operations Leadership: I lead our internal Sprint-based workflows, balancing rigorous scientific evaluation with fast-paced feasibility testing. I build user-oriented systems to support lab scheduling, resourcing, and consumables management to ensure that innovation isn't slowed by operational friction.Cross-Functional Collaboration: My background in upstream bioprocessing for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies gives me technical fluency in CHO biomanufacturing. I work closely with scientists and engineers of many sub-fields to refine ideas into delivered improvements up and down the manufacturing chain.Mentorship & Culture: I currently lead a small team of scientists and engineers, as well as our internship program. I believe in building teams that are agile, eager to learn, and deeply invested in each other’s success.I’m passionate about continuous learning, creative problem solving, systems design, and "big data" approaches to biology.