Ohio University and Diagnostic Hybrids Inc.: A win-win scenario
DHI and Ohio University have developed a synergy that's paying off big for southeast Ohio

By Mary Alice Casey

At the age of 20, Annette Ratcliff is a research assistant working side by side with scientists in the fields of virology and molecular biology. She's gotten a glimpse of the business end of an Inc. 500 company that produces more cell cultures for disease diagnoses than any firm in the world. And now she's working with the company's CEO to line up an internship with an overseas lab.

Needless to say, Ratcliff sees her yearlong internship with Ohio University research partner Diagnostic Hybrids Inc. as giving her an amazing personal and professional edge. The senior biological sciences major is a Cutler Scholar, meaning she has earned one of the university's top scholarships as well as perks like her stint at DHI and a study abroad experience.

''In my first two weeks, I went through an intense orientation where I was able to observe every aspect of the company and then choose which department I would be interested in joining,'' Ratcliff says. ''To me, my experience at DHI is more fulfilling than other opportunities available to me because I not only get to work in the laboratory, but I also get a sense of the business and administrative skills necessary for making this company so successful.''

DHI's president and CEO, David Scholl, PHD '81, knows full well the value of Ratcliff's experience. He was mentored by Joseph Jollick, who co-founded Diagnostic Hybrids in 1983 with a fellow faculty member, Thomas Wagner, and alumnus Wilfred Konneker, BS '43, MS '47 and HON '80.

''At the age of 27, they gave me the opportunity to be the director of research with the hope of being an owner of the company. That's a pretty rare opportunity,'' he says, ''and it was even more so in 1983.''

Ten Cutler Scholars have worked for the company through the years, assisting in all phases of the operation. To acknowledge the students' contributions as well as the University's role in DHI's development, the company made a $250,000 commitment to the university to endow a Cutler scholarship.

''The bottom line is that these students are really motivated young people who are looking for an opportunity to prove their capabilities,'' he says. ''We have often put them right on the front line.

''At DHI, the front line is a pretty happening place. The company was No. 219 on Inc. magazine's 2004 list of 500 fastest-growing private U.S. companies. That wasn't the only good news the company got last year. In August, DHI raised $10 million in equity capital from Summit Partners, a venture capital firm that reviews investment opportunities with 150,000 companies annually but invests in just 15. DHI plans to use the funding for research and development and to pursue technology and company acquisitions.

''The numbers keep coming back that on a national basis, we're meeting a very high standard,'' Scholl says. Much of the credit for the company's success lies in its relationship with the university, Scholl says.

He points to the support of former presidents Charles Ping and Robert Glidden as well as the anchor tenant status the company has in the University's Innovation Center. And he calls an investment The Ohio University Foundation made in the company in 2002 ''the single most important factor in our economic growth.'' DHI used the funds to acquire two small competitors and bring 40 jobs to Athens.

Vice President for Research Jack Bantle says the University's partnership with DHI is a win-win scenario. The company benefits from the supportive environment that the university can provide, and the university gains a valuable research partner, royalties on innovations and an attractive model for drawing top researchers to the area.

''That's the kind of synergy we like between the entity and the university,'' Bantle says. ''We're willing to do this with other companies.'' The company's annual payroll of $5 million supports 140 employees, and Scholl anticipates a bright future that could see employment top 600 in coming years. He mentions the possibility of two to three companies spinning off from DHI as the company partners with others in Ohio in such areas as the diagnosis of endocrine diseases.

''I really hope that we can take this momentum and leverage it into bigger and better things in health care in the state of Ohio,'' Scholl says.

As for Ratcliff, there's no doubt she'll be able to leverage her experiences at Diagnostic Hybrids into new and exciting opportunities. She plans to pursue a doctorate in animal sciences and eventually work with genetics and livestock breeding programs.

''The techniques and methods I'm using are invaluable skills that anyone wishing to pursue a career in biotechnology should possess,'' Ratcliff says. ''I also have the unique opportunity to observe real-life applications of the materials I am learning about in class.''

Mary Alice Casey is editor of Ohio Today.

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