Meet Richard J. Thomas

Meet Richard J. Thomas

“The sales representatives I have worked with have been very personable and always listen to my needs,” said Dr. Thomas. “They try to solve the problems my team encounters, whether it’s a supply issue or an issue with a particular product. The people who are at Phenomenex are the true reason that I stick around.”

As the chief scientific officer at Precision Diagnostics, Dr. Richard J. Thomas keeps busy by staying up-to-date with the latest technology and incorporating cutting-edge innovations into current operations within his organization. Dr. Thomas is also responsible for cost savings and vendor relationships, both of which are crucial components of Precision Diagnostics’ goals to operate cheaper, better, and faster than its competitors.

Despite being the first person hired in the lab at Precision Diagnostics, Dr. Thomas didn’t begin his career in the clinical lab. After earning his master's degree in organic chemistry and his Ph.D. in chemistry, Dr. Thomas entered the pharmaceutical industry before accepting a position with Precision Diagnostics. He has been leading the company’s laboratory ever since.

As the first hire, Dr. Thomas witnessed Precision Diagnostics grow from just two employees to almost 500 throughout the past decade. He credits the company’s success and growth to their patient-centered approach. Driven by integrity, honesty, and successful outcomes, Dr. Thomas encourages his team to design with the patient in mind. “Because Precision Diagnostics is patient-centered, outcomes are incredibly important in everything we design, and accuracy is our biggest priority,” said Dr. Thomas.

Paired with its patient-centered approach, Precision Diagnostics’ commitment to creating the most advanced technology for clinical urine and oral fluid testing is perfectly aligned with Dr. Thomas’ personal motivations at the laboratory. “A lot of the urine that we test comes from recovery centers,” said Dr. Thomas. “Clinics say they rely on the data that we provide to make informed choices about treatment for patients who have drug addictions. Learning about the lives that we touch in the drug recovery market, and hearing the personal success stories of people getting off of drugs is what really motivates me.”

In the next five to ten years, Dr. Thomas envisions that his industry will grow to become more efficient, which will ultimately impact more patient lives. “I think we will see a lot of the improvements that sites or other mass spectrometry manufacturers are making in the pharmaceutical world, and we will figure out how to adapt those to the clinical side of things,” explained Dr. Thomas.

Every decision made at Precision Diagnostics comes down to what will be cheaper, better, and faster—but, for Dr. Thomas’ team, cutting costs does not mean cutting quality. For nine years and counting, Dr. Thomas has relied on Phenomenex products to assist his team in reaching their quality, cost, and scheduling goals. In addition to the trust he has in Phenomenex products, Dr. Thomas is loyal to Phenomenex because of its top-notch sales representatives.