Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS — Researcher Tim Randolph, Ph.D., professor of clinical health sciences at Saint Louis University, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for developing more accessible diagnostics for sickle cell disease. Fellows of the NAI are academic inventors who have made a significant difference in the quality of life in society.

"Dr. Randolph's discovery of low-cost diagnostic methods for detection of sickle cell disease has made a tremendous impact on increasing access to testing in areas of the developing world with the greatest need," said Bernard Rousseau, Ph.D., professor and dean of the Doisy College of Health Sciences at SLU.

“Tim’s commitment to our Jesuit mission, the creation and implementation of knowledge for the betterment of humankind, is exemplified in decades of teaching, research, and development,” said Ken Olliff, vice president for research at SLU.

Randolph’s first patent, for Sickle Confirm, has been licensed by SLU to Randolph World Ministries, a medical ministry created by Randolph and his wife Liz in 2000 as a response to their calling to support the medical and spiritual needs of the people of Haiti. Randolph World Ministries provides this diagnostic to its clinic partners in Haiti and to clinics countrywide at an economically accessible cost.

"Providing local production and access to this testing enables patients to receive treatment for sickle cell. It drastically reduces an estimated 1,200 yearly pediatric deaths in Haiti due to sickle cell disease," Randolph stated.

Randolph World Ministries, Inc. is constructing the first-of-its-kind Sickle Care Center in Haiti to serve sickle cell patients directly and educate and empower clinics countrywide to grow their sickle cell program. Randolph says the eventual goal is to duplicate the program in Haiti in other regions needing accessible detection methods for hematologic diseases, including sickle cell disease.

The NAI Fellows Program highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.