News and Progress

CEO supports Fund for Excellence

Jan. 25, 2007

For thousands of hospitals and physician offices throughout the United States, Japan and Western Europe, the accuracy of blood test results often depends on controls created by Streck Laboratories in Omaha, Neb. Since 1971, the company has led the development and manufacture of hematology, chemistry and immunology products for the clinical laboratory.

Dr. Wayne Ryan, PhD ’53, Streck's chairman and CEO, founded the company with the development of its very first product — a platelet reference control for use in clinical laboratories’ first automated instruments.

Ryan began his career as a professor at Creighton University. Later, he was a faculty member at  the University of Nebraska. His passion for research led him to found the company that has grown from two employees to 300 today.

Ryan now is a professor emeritus from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and spends most of his time doing research on new products for Streck. He has over 40 patents relating to health and clinical products and a staff of 30 investigators who assist him.

Streck Laboratories maintains 65 percent of the world market of hematology controls, marketed in 50 states and 42 countries.

Ryan recently renewed his relationship with the University of Missouri with gifts each of the last several years to support the Chancellor's Fund for Excellence, as well as the research of Dr. Boyd O’Dell, who was Ryan’s favorite professor at the University.

“One of my goals is to continue to support the University of Missouri in my general area of research interest,” Ryan said. “There were so many nice people who assisted me in so many different ways. I have a lot of good memories.”