Anthony Saouma

The Division of Laboratory Operations oversees the Wadsworth Center's operations at five facilities in the Albany area, totaling ~900,000 square feet of space and over 210 acres of real estate. The facilities include:

• Biggs Laboratory at the Empire State Plaza
• David Axelrod Institute for Public Health on New Scotland Avenue in Albany
• Griffin Laboratories in Guilderland
• Life Sciences Innovation Building on New Scotland Avenue in Albany
• Division of Laboratory Quality Certification in Albany

The Division provides services that support all the public health missions of the Wadsworth Center, including clinical and environmental testing, research, education, and regulatory oversight. The Division is comprised of the following programs:

• Facilities Management – engineering, maintenance, and custodial services; transportation services between facilities; instrumentation and automation services for the maintenance and repair of scientific equipment. 
• Safety Office – ensure safe, healthy work environment; mitigate work place risks and hazards; compliance with applicable state and federal rules, laws, regulations; programs in biosafety, chemical, fire, occupational, environmental and radiation safety; laboratory inspections; accident, incident investigations and follow-up.
• Mail, Receiving and Shipping – receiving and ship out of mail, supplies and equipment across all five sites.
• Equipment Inventory and Asset Management - maintain a Center-wide equipment inventory, accounting for, and properly safeguarding, all laboratory, office, and operations equipment; track each piece of equipment from acquisition, during use, to final disposition.
• Multimedia Services – oversees the Wadsworth Center’s internal and external web presence and provides photography and design services for research and administration.
• Glassware – glassware services to the Center's public health and research laboratories.
• State Order Desk - coordinate the assembly and ship out of diagnostic sampling kits to members of the health care community in need of public health testing services. 

Anthony graduated from SUNY in 1996 and has held several roles in private industry including Design Engineer, Lead Project Coordinator, Projects and Maintenance Facilitator, and lastly Site Maintenance Manager, before joining the Wadsworth Center as a Director of Facilities Management in 2018. 

Anthony’s primary role is to coordinate the Center’s three facilities management groups at Biggs, DAI and Griffin Laboratories, including to continually improve the safety culture and practices across all campuses. 

From planning strategies to spending approvals and tracking, Anthony assists in the administration of the Center’s capital budget.

He has developed an active, working relationship with the Office of General Services that continues to be a significant path for open, two-way communications, facilitating building improvements and equipment replacement at the Biggs Laboratory.

As a member of the Wadsworth Center Security and Emergency Planning Committee, Anthony contributes to the Center’s Incident Command Structure.