Aigner (pronounced Ayn-yay) Miles, owner of Easy Lab Tech, LLC, a blood, urine and DNA testing laboratory based in Maryville, IL., believes she can do anything. In fact, her husband recently commented on her multifaceted skills.
“He said, ‘you are amazing; you’re a doctor, a counselor, a writer, a scientist and a marketer…’ Miles recalled, repeating her husband’s question:
“’How do you know how to do all these things?’”
Miles responded humbly, saying that she simply loves new information and following where it leads.
Named after the famous 1970s/80s’ French designer, “Etienne Aigner,” the 38-year-old has indeed traveled a diverse career path. She served in the military, worked in logistics, modeled, wrote a book, and started a home healthcare business all before opening her laboratory in late 2021.
Miles is the oldest of her mother and estranged father’s 13 children. She was born and raised near Fairgrounds Park in St. Louis before moving to Jennings in her late teens. Miles enrolled at Cleveland ROTC, a now-shuttered magnet military academy on the city’s south side. The disciplined, military environment at the high school suited her so much she enrolled in the U. S. Army right after graduation.
Stationed in South Carolina, then Virginia, then St. Louis and lastly St. Clair Il., Miles embraced traveling while continuing her educational endeavors. She earned a bachelor’s in psychology and completed a graduate program in mental health, counseling, and forensic psychology at Mizzou.
She left the Army with a certification in automated logistics. Since Miles was trained to review and implement processes that make “systems” more efficient, she went to work for companies that offered maintenance, inventory management, supply and operating products and services.
She liked the work but wanted to utilize her psychology degree, so she transitioned to social work. Miles’ job as an investigative child abuse worker involved cases of drug use, parental neglect and sometimes even murder.
“It quickly became taxing for me,” Miles explained, adding that she had her first child at the time. “It created burnout really fast and impacted me as a mother…I was always gone, always in danger and always in high-profile situations.”
Miles (under her maiden name “Martin”) wrote “Perseverance is Remembrance” in 2011. The book, outlining the struggles, strength, heartbreak, and endurance of a young mother, was written during a “dark time in her early 20s,” she said.
In 2017, while still doing social work, Miles opened her own home healthcare agency specializing in providing long term care and services for the geriatric population.
“It was a huge jump from working with abused kids to medically compromised seniors,” Miles said, further explaining how the business whet her appetite to better understand how different agencies could help her clients. In the process, she built rapport with other healthcare professionals offering a variety of client services.
That information-gathering led to the opening of Easy Lab Tech, LLC. Married with two more children and living in Maryville IL., Miles wanted something on the Illinois side of the river. She said she “sort of stumbled onto the idea” based on professionals she had met in the industry. Based on her contacts, Miles said she got certified as a drug-tester and then added “additional relatable certifications.” She sold her healthcare business and in late 2021-as the COVID-19 pandemic surged-set off on a new venture.
She admitted to going into the specimen collection business “kind of blindly.”
“It was a huge learning curve, but it wasn’t impossible,” Miles explained. “I like to think that if I can learn any product, I can sell the service,” she explained. “So, it’s just a matter of me understanding the needs and then basically developing myself and my staff to meet the needs of clients.”
Miles was also fortified by the research she had done. Located not far from established testing companies like Quest andLabcorp clinical laboratories, she had already lined up viable contacts in Illinois willing to send clients and business her way.
Today, Easy Lab Tech offers a variety of specimen collection services. It collects specimens (urine, blood, hair, saliva, stool) for workplace drug-testing, insurance companies, local physicians, specialty laboratories working on clinical trials and more. The company also provides DNA testing for paternity determination, probation & parole and local jail systems and criminal trials.
Miles even offers DNA testing for people who suspect their partners may be unfaithful.
“Yes, we have that ability. People can bring in clothing, sheets, bras, whatever…and we can test for the presence (or type) of semen, hair or other (foreign) specimens.”
The key to her success, Miles insisted, is her passion for new information.
“It’s just fun to me. Going out may be fun for other people but this is fun for me,” Miles said. “My daughter is an amazing artist; she loves theater, she loves art, she loves to draw and write. This is my art. I love information. I’m all into it.”
Although business is “booming and thriving,” Miles said she can’t promise she’ll retire in the specimen-collection industry. It all depends on where information leads her.
“I’m in it for as long as it thrives,” Miles said, adding: “But I’m also open to whatever doors open next even if it’s something totally different.”
Sylvester Brown, Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow
