Oluwatosin Tabitha Leshaodo
Tabitha L. is a Quality Analyst specializing in drug discovery and GMP-regulated laboratory operations with Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Professional Scientific Services. She brings deep expertise in quality assurance and quality control across the full product lifecycle—from raw materials and in-process testing to finished pharmaceutical products. Her work focuses on ensuring strict adherence to cGMP standards, regulatory guidelines, and data integrity principles, maintaining reliable, traceable documentation that safeguards both product quality and patient safety.
With a strong background in analytical development and drug delivery systems, Tabitha has extensive experience in deviation management, root cause analysis, and CAPA implementation within regulated environments. She has supported laboratory operations through instrument calibration and maintenance, analytical testing using HPLC and other validated methods, and documentation management within LIMS and electronic quality systems. Previously, she served as a Research Scientist at East Tennessee State University, where she conducted drug formulation research, method development, and stability studies aligned with ICH guidelines.
Tabitha holds a Master of Science in Biological and Biomedical Sciences from East Tennessee State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Her academic foundation in process engineering, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena complements her applied expertise in pharmaceutical quality systems. Known for her technical competence, collaborative leadership, and commitment to continuous improvement, she remains dedicated to advancing compliant, efficient operations that enhance drug development outcomes and protect public health.
• East Tennessee State University
• Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
• First Position Oral Presentation ASRF Conference 2024
• Geraldine Rita Slemp Memorial Award, ETSU 2023
• American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• American Society for Quality
• Non-profit organization in Nigeria (financial support)
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having good interpersonal relationships with people, which has helped me build collaborative teamwork throughout my career. When you're trying to identify and investigate different kinds of production deviations or test analysis deviations, you need your colleagues to work together, brainstorm, and perform root cause analysis. I've also been fortunate to have supportive mentors like Dr. Yao, who is the Disney Chair at the Center for Infectious Disease at East Tennessee State University, and Dr. Ashanakuri, my master's degree thesis advisor. These are people who have actually impacted me and gave me the background knowledge I needed in my research work, guided my decisions, and helped me understand exactly what I was doing. Having the right people around you who can impact you positively and mentor you in whichever path is actually a great support.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of the most important pieces of advice I've learned is that when in doubt, ask the right questions, and do not cover up your mistakes. If you're working as a quality assurance person, one of the things we look out for is to identify errors and deviations, because no matter how little these deviations are, they can actually cause a process to be contaminated or even mess up with the integrity of the whole organization. If you need more training, go for it. Consistent asking of questions and being sure that I'm 100% confident in whichever process or test or analysis that I'm doing has really helped me in my career and my job.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The first thing I would say is get the right education that you need. Do you love what you do? Then stay focused, because challenges will definitely come, but you need to be dedicated. The passion comes from loving what you do, and when you have the passion for what you do, no matter what you face, the dedication is there and you'll be focused. There will always be issues and situations that will want to turn you around or make you be discouraged, but once you're focused and you know what you want, you already have a set goal. My basic advice would be know what you want, have a set goal, be dedicated towards that course, and you'll be fine. Get people around you that will support you, because people actually make a very great impact in our lives. People that can impact us positively, even prayerfully as well, and also to mentor us in whichever path is actually a great support.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work, the most important values are ensuring patient safety is top-notch and maintaining compliance at all times. I believe in adhering to quality standards to the letter, which means following all regulations and regulatory guidelines and ensuring proper documentation that is reliable and traceable. I also value not covering up mistakes, because no matter how little deviations are, they can actually cause a process to be contaminated or mess up the integrity of the whole organization. When in doubt, I believe in asking the right questions and seeking more training if needed. I value being 100% confident in whichever process, test, or analysis I'm doing. Beyond technical competence, I value having good interpersonal relationships with people and collaborative teamwork, because when we need to identify and investigate deviations, we need colleagues to work together and brainstorm to perform root cause analysis.