Nelda Fikes is Director of Laboratory Operations for the Therapeutic Labs @ TMC in Houston, where she leads all aspects of lab operations with a focus on safety, compliance, and operational excellence. She oversees regulatory compliance, Environmental Health and Safety programs, budgeting, vendor management, and customer relationship management, ensuring efficient workflows and a high-quality service experience for resident companies.

Texas-born and a native of Houston and its life sciences ecosystem, Nelda brings extensive experience across the region and has played a key role in the construction and opening of JLABS @ TMC, as well as in the transition to Therapeutic Labs @ TMC. She previously served as Senior Operations Manager at JLABS @ TMC for Johnson & Johnson Innovation, where she supported site operations and innovation initiatives. Earlier in her career, she worked as an Enterprise Project Manager at VWR and held scientific and research leadership roles at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and MD Anderson Cancer Center. She holds a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and an MBA from Sam Houston State University.