The region is brimming with life sciences talent, honed by local education institutions and further supported by not-for-profit organizations and corporate leaders in the industry.
Corporate talent development
CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services is a global full-service contract research organization specializing in guiding biopharmaceutical and medical device companies through every phase of clinical development. Recognizing the importance of educating and upskilling their employees, CTI’s research associate (RA) program, a career development initiative, gives entry-level employees the opportunity to work on projects and gain experience across 25 departments—including areas where science meets operational strategy, like human resources, finance, and business development.
Northern Kentucky native Alexa Kehoe learned about CTI’s RA program at a career fair. She attended Northern Kentucky University and graduated in 2020 with a degree in health sciences but was unsure of the path she wanted to pursue after graduation.
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Alexa Kehoe, CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services“The research associate program allows new talent to develop and grow within CTI. This program was a great way to get into the life sciences industry and figure out my niche,” said Kehoe. “A few weeks in, I knew I wanted to work in clinical project management and was able to devote my time to preparing for that next step.”
Most associates spend nine to 15 months as a research associate before promotion into a specific department. In October 2021, one year after starting the RA program, Kehoe was named clinical project coordinator in the clinical project management department.
Today, she manages clinical trials for global pharmaceutical companies as a senior clinical project coordinator. This role includes the organization of timelines, budgets, and scope of work maintaining CTI’s high quality and standards.
“Working on clinical trials gives you a unique opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Kehoe. “I get to work with new drugs and treatments across multiple therapeutic areas, and I know my work at CTI is helping a critically ill population.”
On-the-job career advancement
Helping others is also something Rhea Thomas wanted to do when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height. The pandemic hit when she was near the end of her assignment with AmeriCorps, so she applied for a job as a COVID lab technician at
Gravity Diagnostics in Covington, which was performing a lot of COVID testing at multiple locations throughout Northern Kentucky and processing the tests at their lab in Covington.
Founded in 2016, Gravity provides innovative diagnostic testing in the areas of toxicology, pharmacogenetics, infectious and upper respiratory diseases, blood, and COVID-19. Licensed to service all 50 states, the company experienced tremendous growth during the pandemic and completed more than 4 million COVID tests since 2020.
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Rhea Thomas, Gravity Diagnostics“It was a crazy time, and no one really knew just how expansive COVID testing would be,” said Thomas. “We were working 24/7, but the work was so meaningful, and it felt great to be participating in something that was vital to keeping Northern Kentuckians safe.”
After starting at Gravity as a lab technician, Thomas was promoted to one of four leads for
the infectious disease lab. She later became the weekend manager and worked her way up to technical training manager across all lab departments at Gravity.
Today, she oversees eight employees in the blood testing and toxicology screening
department as a lab manager.
“In five years at Gravity, I have held a number of different positions. Gravity gives me amazing opportunities for growth and lots of support along the way,” said Thomas. “My direct manager has lots of experience in hematology and his leadership allows me to transition into different roles very easily.”
Thomas attended Agnes Scott College in Georgia, where she earned a degree in neuroscience. She started out her college career pre-med, but even after deciding not to become a doctor, she still pursued her personal mission of impacting people through her work.
“I am really fortunate to be in the position that I am in,” said Thomas. “I’m learning and growing on the job, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
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Wood HudsonUREP 2025: Back row l to r: Will Telesz / Ohio Wesleyan, Morgan Lopes / NKU, Dr. Joseph Bruns, instructor Wood Hudson. Front l to r: Molly Eide / NKU, Alisha Syed / NKU, Emma Lykins / OSU, Abby Bocian / Xavier, Lilly Keith / NKU
Undergraduate research opportunity
In Northern Kentucky, there are also many opportunities for college students to gain real-world research experience in life sciences.
For more than 40 years,
Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory in Newport, a not-for-profit research institution, has given hundreds of undergraduate students the opportunity to create their own projects and work alongside scientists performing biomedical and cancer research.
“We focus on students from Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati to make sure they have opportunities to develop their research skills and perform lab work on their own so they can go on to have successful careers in the life sciences industry,” said Denise Byrum, senior director of operations and organization development at Wood Hudson. “We have good partnerships with all of the universities in the area.”
Cincinnati native Grant Schwiebert, an incoming junior at The Ohio State University studying biomedical engineering, participated in Wood Hudson’s Undergraduate Research Education Program in 2024.
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Grant Schwiebert, Wood Hudson alumni“As a young freshman, I wanted the opportunity to contribute to medicine,” said Schwiebert. “I knew working and learning more about cancer research would be very helpful for my career path. Understanding cancer research was very important to me.”
This was Schwiebert’s first time working in a wet lab, and he was tasked with performing western blots and cell culturing and studying the effect of a specific protein on cancer cells. Wood Hudson’s biospecimen repository features nearly three million human cancerous and noncancerous tissue specimens with which students can work
“I had a great experience. Both doctors were excellent, and I really enjoyed working with them,” said Schwiebert. “I ultimately decided I don’t want to pursue cancer research, but it was very valuable to learn what research paths I want to pursue, and which I don’t.”
Many Wood Hudson alumni go on to careers in the medical field. Doug Hartman is a staff pathologist for a private pathology lab in Ohio. He also serves as a board member for Wood Hudson and participated in the Undergraduate Research Education Program in 1998 and 1999.
“Schools tend to teach theory more than practical tactics, and Wood Hudson gives students hands-on experience,” said Hartman. “Young students are learning skills that will be beneficial to them in their future careers in the biomedical sciences.”
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Wood Hudson alumni and board member, Doug Hartman, is a staff pathologist at a private lab. Hartman presented his work from Wood Hudson at the Kentucky Academy of Science and at an undergraduate research symposium. He also used his work at Wood Hudson as the basis for his biology capstone at Xavier University and was later successfully accepted into medical school.
“There is rapidly growing interest in the life sciences industry in Northern Kentucky, and we are proud to be home to internationally recognized companies making giant leaps in the medical field,” said BE NKY Vice President of Economic Development Kimberly Rossetti. “I know we will continue to see major medical breakthroughs develop out of this region by talented, local professionals who were mentored by those who came before them.”
Greater Cincinnati is already home to a large network of nationally recognized healthcare institutions, including St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Companies like the PPD Clinical Research Business of Thermo Fisher Scientific and Ethos Laboratories continue to expand in the region, and the introduction of lab incubator LifeSciKY to Covington will help Northern Kentucky entrepreneurs and innovators in the life sciences field bring their ideas to fruition.
As the life sciences industry in Northern Kentucky continues to grow and thrive, organizations and companies such as Wood Hudson, Gravity Diagnostics and CTI will continue to nurture and develop the next generation of life sciences talent.