A. PAUL SCHAAP:
 




 
 
 
 
 
Founder, President, and CEO of Lumigen Inc., in Southfield. Lumigen supplies chemiluminescent reagents to the clinical immunodiagnostics market. The company provides chemical compounds to aid in new detection technologies for clinical laboratory and life science research. Schaap founded Lumigen in 1987 and is a retired chemistry professor from Wayne State University.


WHERE BORN: "Scottsburg, Indiana."

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: "My father, certainly, who was a Presbyterian minister in a small town in Indiana and encouraged me in lots of different ways in my education. Even though we didn't have a lot of resources for college and things, he found a way to make it happen, which even included studying abroad. Also important were my chemistry teachers at Hope College and graduate school at Harvard."

LAST BOOK READ: "A book about Vanda orchids."

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: "Hard-working, motivated, curious, family-oriented."

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: "We're involved in supplying a kind of chemical compound to medical diagnostic companies. That business, medical diagnostics, is moving into what's called molecular diagnostics. With information obtained from one's DNA, it won't be long before 'personalized medicine' will let physicians tailor medicine to a specific need of the patient. But it will all be based on diagnostic testing, and that's what we're involved in. We work with some of the largest diagnostic companies."

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: "Digital camera, along with a computer. I've always enjoyed photography, and digital cameras allow you to do all sorts of fun things."

FAVORITE PLACE: "We have a cabin in northern Minnesota."

FAVORITE HOBBIES: "Fishing and boating of any kind."

FAVORITE FOOD: "Fresh-caught lake trout."

MY HIDDEN TALENT: "Architecture. That was a second career choice possibility for me. I continue to do things like that and enjoy it."

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: "Good teacher, trusted friend and fair-minded."

Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2009, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.