Robert Michel
Until Robert L. Michel came along and founded The Dark Intelligence Group (DIG) two decades ago, the clinical laboratory industry and the anatomic pathology profession lacked a trustworthy source for information about the management and operations of medical laboratories. From its inception in 1995, The Dark Report quickly became the “go to†source of industry intelligence, innovations in lab management, and strategic market analysis.
This excellence in reporting has earned recognition from his peers. For example, twice Michel and The Dark Report have won national awards for best investigative reporting by the Specialty Information Publishers Association. In 2005, the award was for Michel’s coverage about how the anatomic pathology condominium laboratories (pod labs) operated by urologists and gastroenterologists came to be, who operated them, and how these owners marketed the AP condo labs to other physician groups. In 2009, Michel’s award for best investigative reporting resulted from his published interviews with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated when the company admitted that, for a period of 18 months, it had been reported inaccurate Vitamin 25(OH) D results because of problems with its laboratory-developed test methodology. The Dark Report’s story was picked up by The New York Times and was in the national news cycle for several days.
In his role as Editor-in-Chief, Michel brought unique capabilities to DIG and The Dark Report. His management training and diverse business experience—along with his skills as a concise writer and analyst—proved to be a winning combination for readers of The Dark Report. For that reason, Michel’s story has many intriguing elements.
Immediately prior to founding DIG, he had served in several executive positions for Nichols Institute based in Portland, Oregon, and San Juan Capistrano, California. This was during the time that Nichols Institute was an independent public lab company with annual revenues of about $280 million (prior to its acquisition by MetPath, Inc., now Quest Diagnostics Incorporated). He traveled extensively to many of the clinical lab business units owned by Nichols Institute in different regions of the United States and played a role in formulating effective market strategies in response to the emergence of closed-panel HMOs, capitated pricing, and full-risk managed care contracts, among other successful management initiatives.
Prior to his service at Nichols Institute, Michel served at three different Fortune 100 companies. These were Procter & Gamble, Centex Corporation, and Financial Corp. of America. Each was an opportunity to master new management techniques and apply them in different industries. Between these positions, he gained experience as an entrepreneur, having founded a real estate development firm and a general contracting company in the Southeastern United States.
Robert Michel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played rugby, a sport he participated in for another 22 years. He is a native of California and grew up in Santa Ana.
Articles by Robert Michel
December 23, 2013 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Saudi Arabia is the second country to embark on the goal of sequencing 100,000 human genomes. Earlier this month, the Saudi Human Genome Program was announced. Funding for the program, expected to take five years, will be provided by the Saudi Arabian national science agency. The fir…
Lab Companies’ IPOs Go Two-for-Three in November
CEO SUMMARY: This fall, a parade of molecular and genetic test companies moved forward with initial public offerings (IPOs) of their stock. In September, Foundation Medicine raised $106 million from its IPO. Encouraged by this success, three different companies proceeded with IPOs during …
Frederick Sanger Dies at Age 95, Hailed as Father of Genomics
EVERY DAY, ACROSS THE GLOBE, labs perform testing using Sanger sequencing and other fundamental techniques of proteomics and genomics pioneered and developed by Frederick Sanger, who died last month at the age of 95. Sanger is considered one of the giants in biochemistry. He was one of only three pe…
December 2, 2013 “Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News”
Despite the continuing cutbacks in reimbursement for lab testing, some professional investors still see opportunity in this market sector. On November 13, Genova Diagnostics, Inc., of Asheville, North Carolina, was acquired by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and  
Medicare Price Cuts Drive Labs to Sell or File BK
CEO SUMMARY: Professional investors are smart with their money. Thus, it is no surprise that clinical lab and pathology companies owned by private equity firms are the first to be sold or closed. These investors are acting in response to the cumulative negative financial impact of recent …
Most Colorado Labs Now Connected to State’s HIE
CEO SUMMARY: One trend getting little publicity is that of health information exchanges (HIEs). Since its founding in 2009, the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO) has grown steadily. Today, most of the state’s independent lab companies and hospital laboratories a…
November 11, 2013 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Who would have guessed that Angelina Jolie would do a multi-million-dollar favor to Myriad Genetics, Inc.? Jolie caused quite a stir earlier this year when she went public with the news that she had done a prophylactic double mastectomy after she had learned the results of her BRCA test for br…
Nation’s Lab Innovators Attack Systemic Errors
CEO SUMMARY: One keynote speaker at this year’s Lab Quality Confab meeting tackled the sensitive subject of recurring bad quality within the lab and the costs associated with it. Lucia M. Berte, MA, MT(ASCP), showed a rapt audience how many sources of recurring bad quality exist and why…
California Pharmacists to Order Tests, but Will Laboratories Get Paid?
A NEW LAW IN CALIFORNIA allows pharmacists to order laboratory tests for monitoring patients’ medications. But it is unclear if labs will be paid for such tests under the law. California Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, SB 493, into law on October 1. It raises the status of pharmacists as hea…
October 21, 2013 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
There is progress on the integration of digital pathology systems and proprietary algorithms designed to help pathologists make diagnoses. This month, Visiopharm and Omnyx LLC, announced a joint venture. On its own, in Europe last year, Visiopharm earned a CE mark fo…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 15 – October 27, 2025
The Dark Report examines the momentous decision by the VA to switch accreditors from The Joint Commission to CAP. Also, we analyze retractions in pathology journals to gain insight into scientific fraud.
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