Program
Room: Sidlaw
Think Like an Engineer – Early Detection and Troubleshooting of Cytometer Problems
Instrument performance characterization and monitoring can help you identify developing problems in time to address them proactively. Being able to provide this type of data can also help you get the appropriate vendor-provided service more rapidly when the repair exceeds in-house abilities or resources. We’ll discuss setting up performance monitoring plans in an SRL environment and how to use them to inform troubleshooting. Approaches covered will include, but are not limited to: initial performance characterization, manufacturer and supplemental QCs, and the utility of Levy-Jennings plots. This session is geared toward leaders and staff of new or growing SRLs but welcomes all cytometrists looking to discuss the topic.
Rachael Sheridan, PhD SCYM (ASCP)CM - Director, Flow Cytometry Core Van Andel Institute, ISAC SRL Emerging Leader
Room: Fintry
Why can't they play nicely? Navigating unexpected challenges in designing new flow cytometry panels and expanding existing ones
In recent decades, the field of cytometry has witnessed a remarkable surge in the adoption of new fluorescent dyes, driving the widespread integration of large panels and spectral technologies into daily workflows. These developments have underscored the critical need to account for dye interactions within the reagent mix and during cell staining procedures. However, these interactions are often not sufficiently described, primarily due to the scarcity of unbiased technical reports, further compounded by the proprietary nature of reagent information.
In this tutorial, we will first briefly examine the chemistry families of fluorescent dyes commonly employed in flow cytometry. We will then revisit established considerations regarding unwanted interactions between reagents, as well as between dyes and cells. This includes discussions on Fc receptor binding, cyanine- and cyanine-like dye interactions with myeloid cells, polymer dye aggregation, undesired FRET detection, and other pertinent factors.
The primary emphasis of the tutorial will center on what the community regards as 'novel dyes' and their potential unwanted interactions with both reagent mix components and target cells. Furthermore, we will explore strategies for future-proofing panel designs to accommodate the addition of reagents, as well as addressing adding entities with varying brightness levels to the panels. These discussions will provide attendees with valuable insights into optimizing flow cytometry panel designs to effectively navigate the evolving landscape of cytometric analyses.
Anna C. Belkina, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Director of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Room: Pentland
Government Funding for Start-Ups
This tutorial will review the types of government grants available to start-up companies in various countries and discuss the elements common to such applications. The goal is to initiate an updateable and expandable repository of information available to ISAC members considering or involved with companies creating products and/or services needed by the cytometric ecosystem. Future sessions will discuss non-government sources of start-up funding.
Betsy Ohlsson-Wilhelm, PhD - Chair, CYTO Innovation Committee and CEO, SciGro, Inc.
Room: Kilsyth
Advancing Cytometry Together: Your role as an Author, Reviewer, or Guest Editor of Cytometry Part A
Established over 40 years ago, Cytometry Part A—the Journal of Quantitative Cell Science—is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research reports and reviews of innovative scientific studies employing quantitative single-cell measurement, separation, manipulation, engineering, and modeling techniques. The journal also features original research on the mechanisms underlying cellular, tissue, and molecular functions that are discovered through high-content screening and cytometry. Cytometry is committed to advancing quantitative cell biology and promoting the development of innovative techniques and methodologies for the analysis of cellular systems.
The landscape of scientific publishing has undergone significant and rapid changes, driven by a variety of factors, including the push for open access, the emergence of semi-predatory publishers, a growing demand for expedited review and publication processes, and a cultural shift that favors the immediacy of pre-print manuscripts over traditional papers. These developments challenge us to reconsider the operational model of Cytometry. In response, we plan to enhance the involvement of ISAC members in the peer-review process and to expand our network of associate editors and reviewers. Also, by embracing a broader range of disciplines related to single-cell analysis, such as high-content screening and single-cell omics, we can ensure that our journal remains relevant and continues to provide value to the cytometry community.
The first aim of this tutorial is to reintroduce the Cytometry journal to ISAC members, communicate the value of engaged and active peer review, recruit new reviewers, and convince the experts in their subfield of cytometry to volunteer their time and effort as Associate Editors. Secondly, our presentation will address both new and returning authors. We will describe the new policies and strategies that the journal leadership plans to implement to tackle the emerging challenges. We will talk about defending against paper mills and fake data. We will address the fundamental issues of data quality and reproducibility, and we will emphasize the importance of addressing research impact, importance, and novelty in submissions. We will also explore how the journal commits to the FAIR data principles—ensuring scientific results and data are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Finally, we will address frequently asked questions about the statistical analysis standards and conventions expected for publication in our journal and others within the single-cell analysis domain.
Bartek Rajwa - Editor-in-Chief, Cytometry Part A (Purdue University, IN)
David Galbraith - Associate Editor, Cytometry Part A (University of Arizona, AZ)
Room: Moorfoot
Introduction to Imaging Flow Cytometry in 2024
Abstract: The landscape for imaging flow cytometry (IFC) has changed over the past 5 years with more choice and platforms available, all offering different feature sets. Join me for an introduction to imaging flow cytometry and it applications. The tutorial will cover the basics of IFC, what it is, how it works, and the benefits over conventional flow cytometry. We will introduce the newer platforms that have come to market over recent years and what each of these platforms offer for your research. We will end the tutorial touching on IFC experimental design, common pitfalls and some explanation of data analysis.
Dominic Jenner, PhD - Senior Scientist Dstl, Chair Image Content Subcommittee
Kathy Fuller, PhD - University of Western Australia
Room: Sidlaw
A Beginner's Guide to Computational Cytometry: From Algorithms to Applications
With the increase in panel sizes, more and more people are interested in computational cytometry tools to supplement their manual gating strategies. In this tutorial, I will give an overview of the typical computational cytometry pipeline we use in our lab. I will introduce several types of algorithms, what their strengths and caveats are and in which situations they might be applicable. The algorithms will be demonstrated both on a toy dataset, to showcase the principles and which will be made available for further exploration by the participants, as well as on concrete examples of studies we worked on in our lab. At the end, the audience should have a clear idea of some computational tools that might be worth trying on their own use cases.
Sofie Van Gassen - Researcher, Ghent University
Room: Pentland
Responsible Data Management and Sharing
Today, large-scale data sharing has evolved to include sharing of most kinds of scientific data. Data management and sharing has many benefits, including accelerating the pace of biomedical research, enabling validation of research results, and providing accessibility to high-value datasets. We will cover the basics of the Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy, discuss expectations & applicability, how to prepare a DMS Plan, and considerations for sharing data responsibly.
Iyadh Douagi, PhD - Chief, Flow Cytometry Section, Research Technologies Branch. Director, Center for Human Immunology, NIAID, NIH
Room: Kilsyth
Characterizing a Flow Cytometer’s Potential for Small Particle Detection
This workshop is intended for all current and potential small particle enthusiasts (novice to expert) interested in performing small particle analysis. This workshop will build from basic principles of experimental setup to optimization and calibration of instruments, to providing resources and knowledge to perform advanced characterization methods for data analysis.
Vera Tang, PhD - Core Facility Manager & Adjunct Professor, uOttawa Flow Cytometry & Virometry Core Facility
Joshua Welsh, PhD - Staff Scientist, Advanced Technologies Group
Room: Moorfoot
Communicating Scientific Results: Data Quality and Visualization Guidelines for Publications Involving Cytometry Methods
Although the cytometry community often possesses an advanced grasp of data analysis techniques in single-cell analysis, the rise of multi-omics and the increasing application of machine learning and AI have rendered the reporting and visualization of statistical findings considerably more complex than before. To tackle these challenges, numerous scientific journals have adopted strict statistical review protocols and engaged editors with expertise in data visualization and reporting norms. However, such measures are not consistently applied to cytometry data, that could result in the spread of dubious practices and causing confusion among authors, reviewers, and readers.
The tutorial delves deeply into the essential elements of data integrity and the visualization of data in single cell studies, along with broader applications in biological research. It highlights the importance of maintaining high-quality data and will revisit its key attributes, such as accuracy, completeness, consistency, and reproducibility. Participants of the CYTO conference will be guided through the best practices in data gathering, processing, and visualization, tailored for both publishing and presenting. Beyond theoretical discussions, this tutorial will showcase practical examples, contrasting the differences in research presentations stemming from high versus low-quality data. It will also cover the specifics of journal requirements, emphasizing the critical need to follow statistical, stylistic, and formatting standards. Moreover, attendees will receive a detailed self-assessment checklist designed to improve the quality and effectiveness of their research communications.
Diana L. Bonilla Escobar, PhD - Global Scientific Director, Cytek Biosciences
Anna C. Belkina, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Boston University
Kamila Czechowska, PhD - Chief of the Diagnostic Product Development, Metafora Biosystems
Bartek Rajwa, PhD - Research Professor, Purdue University
Attila Tárnok, PhD - Professor for Immunology and Cytomics, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology
Frederic Preffer, MS, PhD - Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
Room: Fintry
Label-Free Imaging and High Dimensional Analysis
This talk will be a light touch walk-through different approaches to label-free Quantitative Phase Imaging and how to extract and maximise the rich data. QPI is arguably the richest form of cytometry, with the ability to study the mass, volume, size, shape, granularity, and many phenotypic traits over time-lapse imaging without having to label the cells. There are multiple approaches to obtain QPIs including ptychography and digital holography. We will look at both approaches and the types of data that can be collected and scientific studies for which they are particularly useful. We will also look at the data analysis approaches that can make light work for the non-expert user.
Peter O'Toole, PhD - Director of the Bioscience Technology Facility, Head of Imaging and Cytometry, and President of the Royal Microscopical Society, University of York
Karen Hogg, PhD
Room: Kilsyth
Mastering the Basics of Cell Sorting, and Exploring the Unexpected
This session brings us back to the fundamentals of cell sorting, including a deeper dive into the nuances of cell sorting that you may already understand. We will first explore the history, the core principles, and the metrics for describing a successful cell sorting session. We’ll help clarify how these metrics are determined. But wait, there's more! We'll delve deeper into the nitty-gritty of droplet formation, stream and deflection stability, and we’ll address cell sorting for bulk and single cell collection applications.
Ready to go beyond the basics? Get ready for the less-known and unexpected: the hidden impact of cell sorting on your precious cells! We'll discuss how cell sorting can affect these purified cells, often intended for use in downstream analyses like single-cell sequencing and metabolomics. Finally we’ll explore innovative strategies to select the right cells for your experiment and to keep them happy. Join us in this session, and we’re looking forward to hearing about your specific cell sorting issues and questions!
Peter Lopez - Vice President, Technical Operations and Innovation, New York Site Head Comprehensive Cell Solutions (CCS)
Room: Sidlaw
Assay Design and Standardization: What Can Researchers Learn From Clinical and Vice Versa?
Since 2022, the Indonesian Government has expanded the provision of leukemia and lymphoma immunophenotyping testing across the country from 9 sites to a projected 35 sites by 2025 to cover all the regional provincial hospitals. This increase in the number of labs doing this test required education of lab staff and development of assay standardization.
To aid the education process, flow cytometry workshops have been conducted in Indonesia with the collaboration with the ISAC Live Education Task Force. These workshops included lectures and labs which covered the principles of flow cytometry, immunofluorescence techniques for flow cytometry, and its use in immunophenotyping of haematological malignancies.
Development of standardized assays also plays a crucial role to be able to scale-up the capacity and provision of clinical services. A simplified 3-tube-8-color panel was designed, its performance verified, and then implemented in most of the testing sites after specialized training.
In this scientific tutorial we will discuss how this was done and where we are in this process. We would also like to hear from any others who have undertaken a similar activity.
Lyana Setiawan, MD, PhD - Head of Clinical Research Unit, Dharmais National Cancer Center
Paul Hutchinson - Head of Flow Cytometry Lab, Centre for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore
Paresh Jain - Associate Director, Medical Affairs, BD Biosciences, Central and South Asia and Japan
Room: Moorfoot
2024 ISAC Biosafety Tutorial - Practical Applications of Biosafety: What’s New in Aerosol Containment Testing
This session will cover key elements of biosafety as they relate to flow cytometry, such as risk assessment, aerosol management, and implementation of good biosafety practices. Attendees will learn how to approach performing work with biohazards in the flow laboratory setting, including special considerations for cell sorters and other flow cytometers and updated methods for aerosol containment testing.
Evan Jellison - Associate Professor, Director Flow Cytometry, Department of Immunology, UCONN School of Medicine
Avrill Aspland - Technical Manager, Biomedical Engineering and Laboratory Animal Services, University of Sydney
Cathy Carswell-Crumpton - Director Stem Cell Flow Cytometry Core, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford Medicine
Room: Pentland
Identifying Good Controls for Data Reproducibility in Polychromatic and Spectral Flow Cytometry
Controls are important in all aspects of science, whether they are biological or experimental controls.
In flow cytometry, we require several types of controls to ensure instrument performance and proper experimental set up. Among those controls it has become especially important to identify good single-color controls, as those will be needed to calculate proper compensation or unmixing matrixes. Displaying compensated or unmixed data helps us to visualize and analyze our data sets in a high dimensional polychromatic experiment, ensuring both the staining and acquisition settings used to rend us good resolution in our data sets.
However, many times it is a real challenge to identify good single-color controls that will allow for proper calculations of these matrixes. Due to expression levels in those controls not matching those on our samples or to slight differences in the spectra pattern of the fluorochromes leading to errors in our compensation and unmixing matrixes. What is then the best approach? Are single color controls in cells a better approach than using commercial antibody capture beads? Are all the antibody capture beads performing the same way in a particular experiment? What other options we may have? Are the new hydrogel-based reference particles the solution if beads do not rend good results and we are limited by sample size? And what about viability markers and fluorescent proteins?
Good controls are a must to succeed in our flow data analysis and in ensuring data reproducibility. In this tutorial, we shall explore and discuss the importance of using appropriate controls in the context of polychromatic and spectral cytometry.
Lola Martinez - Head Flow Cytometry Core Unit. Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO)
Uttara Chakraborty - Assistant Professor Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru, Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Mariana Fernandes - Head of Flow Cytometry Unit. Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes
Room: Fintry
Image Cytometry Analysis Using AI Techniques
Imaging Cytometry represents a significant advancement in modern scientific research, merging the swift analytical power of cytometry with the detailed cellular insights provided by cutting−edge imaging technologies. Imaging Cytometry has evolved remarkably from its initial concept in late 1970s. This evolution overcame initial obstacles, such as developing sophisticated data acquisition and analysis software.
In our session, we will explore the forefront of initial applications, showcasing a variety of advanced techniques from high-throughput, label-free cell imaging and multi−parametric analysis for precise protein identification.
To enhance image quality and reduce artifacts for a better data exploration, advanced denoising methods have been developed utilizing advanced deep-learning image processing algorithms. Furthermore, the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into Imaging Cytometry has significantly improved our ability to analyze cellular morphology, opening new paths in cell biology and disease research.
Our discussion will also cover the challenges in Imaging Cytometry implementation and the intricacies of AI integration for data analysis, and the ongoing quest for improvements in sensitivity and specificity.
The session aims to offer an in−depth look at Imaging Cytometry’s current capabilities, the essential tools for its application, the obstacles to be overcome, and the future enhancements that could further empower this technology in scientific research.
Aida Meghraoui, PhD, PharmD - AMKbiotech CEO, French Association of Cytometry (AFC) Board Member
Polat Goktas, PhD - Senior AI Researcher, School of Computer Science & Ireland’s Centre for Applied Artificial Intelligence (CeADAR), University College Dublin
President's Reception
Sheraton Grand Hotel - Atrium Foyer
The CYTO 2024 President and Editor in Chief's Reception continues in support of important ISAC programs. This will be a ticketed event, open to all CYTO attendees who donate a minimum of $25 or more.
100% of the funds raised will be used to benefit the Student and SRL Jr. Travel Awards, I4S, and Live Education. Come enjoy refreshments and entertainment in support of ISAC’s community while networking with colleagues, stakeholders, and VIPs.
Opening and State-of-the-Art Lecture
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chair: Jessica Houston, PhD
Kevin Eliceiri, PhD -
Computational Optics of the Tumor Microenvironment
The cellular microenvironment in disease models is increasingly being recognized as a key contributing factor in disease onset and progression. Particularly in cancer, key features of the cellular microenvironment, such as metabolic fluxes and organization of the collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM), have been demonstrated to be candidate image-based biomarkers for cancer invasion and progression. However, despite the great promise of these microenvironment image features, their clinical application has been limited for several reasons, including a lack of computational methods for extracting these signatures.
We will overview our collaborative work to quantitate metabolism and ECM organization in a range of tumor models, all using a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic multiparametric optical signals. These signals include polarization, fluorescence intensity, spectra, and lifetime. We will discuss technical approaches and advances for each and early efforts to extend these to clinical pathology. We will also discuss the computational tools being used for this work, including open-source software we are developing specifically for this.
Neil Carragher, PhD
-
Application of high content single-cell morphological tracking of cell states to advance phenotypic drug discovery.
In this talk, I will describe a novel application of trajectory inference to high-content "Cell Painting" data to quantify cell state transitions at the single-cell level in a high-throughput screening format. We have demonstrated the utility of the method through a small molecule screen in a liver differentiation assay. We will further exemplify how our high content phenotypic screening assays are advancing the discovery and translation of novel small molecule compounds and repurposed drugs into clinical trial studies.
Cytometry Part A Editor-In-Chief Farewell Symposium
Room: Tinto
Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Attila Tárnok
- Editor in Chief, Cytometry Part A
Opening by EiC Attila Tárnok - 18 years with Cytometry Part A. Highlights and initiatives
Best Paper Award 2009: Aptamers in Diagnosis and Therapy
Henning Ulrich
Navigating OMIPs' Impact: a 14-Year Odyssey in Flow Cytometry
Yolanda Mahnke
Society and Journal Relationships: A Vignette on how mentorship, Associate Editors, and Young Scholars strengthen Cytometry A
Jessica Houston
Harnessing the power of ISACs SRL community via the SRL Communication format
Derek Davies
TBA Best Paper award winner 2024 presentation
Outgoing EiC Attila Tárnok and incoming EiC Bartek Rajwa - Plenary discussion and Q and A
Immunology 1
Room: Fintry
Session Chairs: Andy Filby & Kathryn Hally
Mass cytometry and multivariate analysis reveals cellular correlates of immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the elderly
Ratnadeep Mukherjee, PhD
- Scientist, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Metabolically activated and highly polyfunctional intratumoral VISTA+ regulatory B cells are associated with tumor recurrence in early stage NSCLC
Lara Gibellini, PhD
- Associate Professor, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Beyond Helpers: Unraveling the Potential of CD4 Cytotoxic T Cells in B cell lymphoma
Ivana Spasevska, PhD
- Researcher, University of Oslo
A tale of two tissues: immune dynamics following CD8+ cell depletion in a baboon model of HIV elite control
Veronica Obregon-Perko, PhD
- Application Scientist, Informatics, BD Biosciences
Clinical/Translational Research 1
Room: Kilsyth
Session Chairs: Alfonso Blanco & Rui Tang
Rationale for Intrapleural Therapy Using Polyfunctional Pleural T Cells To Block Tumor EMT and Drive Systemic Anti-Tumor Immunity
Vera Donnenberg, PhD
- Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh
Targeting Conformational PD-L1 in Circulating MDSCs: A Promising Biomarker for Lung Cancer Immunotherapy
Roser Silvia, MSc
- PhD Candidate, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP)
Application of multi-parameter flow cytometry of microbiota for diagnosis and stratification of patients with chronic inflammatory diseases
Lisa Budzinski, MSc
- PhD Candidate, German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ) - A Leibniz institute
Innovative research partnership pairs high-dimensional spectral cytometry and computational technology to deeply characterize healthy donor blood products to accelerate allogeneic cell and gene therapy development
Ashley Wilson, PhD
- Head of Immunology, Ozette Technologies
Novel Cytometry Applications 1
Room: Moorfoot
Session Chairs: Sara de Biasi & Avrill Aspland
Per-cell uncertainty and kinetic measurements using a microfluidic cytometer with multiple measurement regions
Greg Cooksey, PhD
- Project Leader, NIST
Accessible Automation in Flow Cytometry to Enhance Reproducibility, Boost Productivity and Reduce Costs
Raffaello Cimbro, MSc
- Global Director Flow Cytometry, AstraZeneca
Mechanophenotyping of particles based on raw signal shape analysis using a serial optical microfluidic cytometer
Graylen Chickering, BS
- Biomedical Engineering PhD Candidate, Brown University
Interrogating myeloid cells from human skin, type II mucosae and intestine: Considerations and consequences of isolation protocols to develop a 30-parameter Optimized Multicolor Immunofluorescence Panel (OMIP)
Kirstie Bertram, PhD
- Research Fellow, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research
Data Analysis 1
Room: Pentland
Session Chairs: David Haviland & Andrea Wang
CRUSTY 2.0: an updated versatile web platform for the rapid analysis and visualization of high-dimensional flow cytometry data
Enrico Lugli, PhD
- Principal Investigator, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital
PanelSolver: A New Tool for High Parameter Panel Design
Matthew Creegan, MS, BS
- Director, Flow Cytometry Core, Henry M Jackson Foundation, MHRP
Single-cell Masked Autoencoder: An Accurate and Interpretable Automated Immunophenotyper
Jaesik Kim, MS
- Graduate student, University of Pennsylvania
SuperCellCyto: enabling efficient analysis of large scale cytometry datasets
Givanna Putri, PhD
- Postdoctoral researcher, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Image Cytometry 1
Room: Sidlaw
Session Chairs: Jingjing Zhao & Henry Hui
Microfluidic microscope add-on for image-activated cell sorting
Michael Kirschbaum, PhD
- Group leader, Fraunhofer IZI-BB
Batch-Aware, Generative Deep-Learning Pipeline for Label-Free Imaging Cytometry Reveals NSCLC Tumor Heterogeneity
Michelle C.K. Lo
- Post-Doctoral Fellow, The University of Hong Kong
Spatial mapping of the hepatocellular carcinoma landscape identifies unique intratumoural perivascular-immune neighbourhoods
Felix Marsh-Wakefield, PhD
- Senior research officer, Centenary Institute
Characterization and comparison of hypoxia inducing factors on tumor growth and metastasis in 2D and 3D tumor models
Scott Cribbes, PhD
- Market Development Leader : Cellular Imaging, Revvity Health Sciences, Inc.
Room: Sidlaw
Empowering Excellence: Building a Mentorship Program at ISAC
The mentorship landscape is diverse, encompassing a variety of mentoring options such as one-on-one mentoring, team and career development mentoring, and skills-based mentoring amongst others. Yet, the current method of accessing mentorship opportunities often relies on individual efforts, resulting in a lengthy and challenging process. This emphasizes the need for a more structured and organized program that connects experienced scientists (mentors) with less experienced ones (mentees) to foster guidance, support, and knowledge transfer.
ISAC's strength lies in the incredible diversity among its members. We come from different scientific backgrounds, geographical locations, and speak different languages. Sharing and exchanging different expertise is an immense base for establishing a mentorship program that can benefit from this diversity. The notion of developing a mentoring program has been discussed across several ISAC committees and task forces (CYTO Women, Live Education Delivery, and Leadership Development Program, among others), indicating the initiative's relevance and the broad spectrum of its potential benefits. However, until now the structure of the mentoring program that can fit well in our community is unclear.
By employing a combination of survey data collection, case study presentations, and focused group discussions, this workshop will provide valuable insights into the needs of potential participants and identify the necessary steps for establishing a successful transversal mentoring program.
Key questions that would be answered during the workshop include the following:
1- Which type of mentoring is desired by the cytometry community?
2- What are the key elements of a successful mentoring program, and how can they be implemented in the context of ISAC?
3- Which strategies can be implemented to efficiently pair mentors and mentees and make them to succeed?
Mariela Bollati, PhD - Head of the Cell Biology Unit, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo
Room: Kilsyth
Ensuring Reproducibility in Longitudinal Studies
Highly reproducible cytometry assays are key for achieving high-quality data in longitudinal studies. As cytometry continues to evolve, cytometrists are increasing the dimensionality of panels, working across multiple instruments and sites, and performing highly complex data analysis. In tandem, cytometrists involved in longitudinal studies understand the importance of standardization and accurately accounting for batch effects, and are increasingly interested in characterizing cells or markers of interest that are compromised by storage. As the field of cytometry advances, we need to re-address best practices for designing longitudinal studies, from conception through to data analysis. This workshop aims to collect and disseminate our community’s position on four key questions:
• How do we standardize or harmonize sample collection and preparation?
• How do we ensure instrument standardization or harmonization?
• What controls can we run to quantify batch-to-batch variance?
• How do we detect and account for batch effects during data analysis?
Megan McCausland - Scientific Advisor, Q Squared Solutions
Ana Longhini, PhD - Scientific Research Lead, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Kathryn Hally, PhD - Lecturer, University of Otago
Laura Ferrer Font, PhD - Scientific Solutions Manager, Becton Dickinson
Sam Small, Senior Staff Scientist - Malaghan Institute of Medical Research
Room: Fintry
Science-Driven SRL Operations Model vs Academic Enterprise SRL Operations Model: Two Approaches to Effective Technology Delivery in an Academic Setting
Science in the 21st Century is significantly driven by rapidly advancing technology. Shared Resource Laboratories (SRLs) have become the central repositories of state-of-the art technology and specialized expertise in research institutions. The centralization of instrumentation, technical and scientific expertise, and cost-sharing allows institutions to acquire and develop the technology required to support sophisticated research across many domains. The challenge is often how to fund these laboratories such that technology access is cost-effective both for the institution and the investigator. There are many models for delivering this access in academic settings, both large and small. In this workshop, we present two operational models, one from The Netherlands and one from The United States, that are both similar and unique, which can be applied to academic SRLs of various types. Each one will be presented highlighting their central characteristics, how they can be implemented, along with advantages and disadvantages of each. Key questions to be address include:
-How did you choose your operating model and what about these two would be attractive to you?
-How do you drive the adoption of these or any models that may be atypical?
-What are the advantages/disadvantages of each model?
-What changes would your core need to make to become financially stable over the long-term with either model?
-Do you have an idea for a different approach?
Juan Garcia Vallejo, MD, PhD, MBA - Associate Professor, Director Microscopy and Cytometry Core Facility, Amsterdam UMC-Location VUmc Amsterdam
Jonni Moore, PhD - Professor of Pathology, Faculty Director Penn Cytomics and Cell Sorting, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania
Derek Jones, PhD - Senior Technical Director, Penn Cytomics and Cell Sorting Shared Resource Laboratory, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania
Room: Pentland
So You've clustered: Making Sense of Results in a Post-Clustering World
Problem Focus and Key Questions 1:
Clustering has become an increasingly common approach for analyzing single cell cytometry and sequencing data. However, this creates challenges for data analysis as many researchers are familiar with data preparation for a purely manual gating approach but are not familiar with best practices for an automated gating approach including the impact of transformation, scaling, normalization and sample size. Before even assessing the goodness of a clustering result, care must be given to ensuring the input data have been properly handled. Once a clustering result is in hand, most researchers experience in deciding whether the result is trustworthy, improved or not compared to a clustering result with different settings, or biologically relevant is largely limited to 'stare and compare'. There are a variety of approaches that can be taken that would be valuable to share with attendees.
Our first problem focus and key questions will be around everyone’s experience with data preprocessing in the context of automated gating techniques.
Problem Focus and Key Questions 2:
Everyone’s experience with computational methods for assessing the goodness of clustering results in the context of numeric or calculable results.
Problem Focus and Key Questions 3:
Everyone’s experience with methods of annotating clustering results in a way that can be discussed with others in the field in the context of unsupervised computational approaches, supervised referenced approaches, or ontological approaches.
Problem Focus and Key Questions 4:
Everyone’s experience with expectations and techniques for understanding whether a clustering result is biologically significant in the context of validation, forward propagation, reproducibility, statistical methods to utilize.
Veronica Obregon-Perko, PhD - Application Scientist, Informatics, FlowJo, BD Life Sciences
Matei Ionita, PhD - Computational Consultant and Senior Data Analyst, University of Pennsylvania
Room: Moorfoot
Why Flow Cytometry Should Be Standard in Microbiome Analyses Both in Medical and Environmental Settings
"Microbiomes perform essential tasks ranging from provision of metabolites and pathogen resistance in the human intestine to environmental stability of natural ecosystems. The human intestinal microbiome is intimately linked to host health, while environmental microbiomes impact global biogeochemical cycling, which is intricately linked with climate change.
Currently, most microbiome analyses are conducted through next generation sequencing approaches (NGS). Yet, the complexity of data analysis and the still high costs limit the scalability of this approach. In addition, the delayed turn-around time from sampling to data precludes real-time monitoring of dynamic communities. Ultimately, there is not only increased interest in non-sequencing parameters such as viability or protein expression but also an increasing demand for the physical isolation of individual bacteria for down-stream analyses.
Flow cytometry and cell sorting provide alternative approaches to meet these needs. Microbial community flow cytometry (MCFC) provides a high-throughput time-resolved multivariate characterization of single cells, which can be integrated into “cytometric fingerprints” that have proven to meaningfully describe alterations in both intestinal and environmental microbiomes. Cellular parameters that can be measured include but are not limited to DNA & RNA content, viability, surface glycosylation and antibody decoration. Novel bioinformatic concepts can integrate these parameters into highly resolved descriptions of microbial communities complementing or perhaps replacing classical microbiological profiling methods.
1. How can flow cytometry complement omics’-approaches in clinical, pre-clinical and environmental microbiota research?
2. What technological developments are required to disseminate and improve single-cell based microbiota analyses?
3. What are suitable computational/bioinformatics approaches for multi-dimensional cytometric microbiota data?
Toralf Kaiser, Dipl. Ing. - SRL Staff, Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin, a Leibniz Institute
Hyun-Dong Chang, PhD - Prof. Dr., DRFZ Berlin
Jakob Zimmermann, PhD - Postdoc, Universitätsklinik für Viszerale Chirurgie & Medizin Inselspital, Bern
Susann Müller, PhD - Prof. Dr., Helmholtz Institute for Environmental Research, UFZ
J. Paul Robinson, PhD - Prof. Dr., Purdue University
CYTO Women
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs: Diana Bonilla & Mariela Bollati
Misty Jenkins, PhD -
It takes courage and creativity to cure brain cancer
Kelly Vere, MBE -
Transforming the Technical Profession: Shifting Narratives and Building a Positive Culture
This talk explores the history of the technical profession in the UK, the challenges technical staff have faced, and the emergence of a more positive culture for technical skills, roles, and careers. It discusses recent initiatives like the Technician Commitment and the TALENT programme that have transformed the perception and recognition of technical staff in universities and research institutions. The session will highlight the changing landscape and increased inclusivity within learned societies, professional bodies, and sector organisations. It will explore the future of the technical profession, and forthcoming initiatives that aim to continue advancing the status and opportunities for technicians, fostering a supportive culture and environment that values, respects and invests in technical expertise.
Frontier I
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs: Jessica Back, PhD & Caroline Roe
Adrian Liston, PhD -
FlowCodes, a flow cytometry based platform for massive parallel in vivo screening
The tissues are the site of many of the most important immunological reactions, yet the immunology of the tissues has remained relatively opaque. Recent studies have identified Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in several non-lymphoid tissues. These tissue-resident populations have been ascribed unique characteristics based on comparisons to lymphoid Tregs. To understand key aspects of this tissue Treg population, we need technological approaches that are suitable for assessment of low cell number sources with high dimensionality, such as flow cytometry, to be coupled with massively parallel screening technologies (e.g. CRISPR screens, TCR clonality screens). We modified the ProCodes technology into FlowCodes, a flow cytometry-based platform suitable for in vivo analysis. Using this system, we found that T cell receptors (TCRs) extracted from tissue Tregs conferred Treg fate and also multi-organ homing. These results demonstrate that tissue-resident Tregs are largely constituted by broadly self-reactive Tregs, characterized by transient multi-tissue migration and a common residency program.
Evan Keller, DVM, PhD -
Single cell and spatial analysis of urologic cancers
The recent explosion of high-plex methods to evaluate biomolecules at the single-cell level in situ has opened the door to identifying novel interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment, spatial relationships between cell types and signaling processes, and potential biomarkers for prognosis and predictiveness. Using these methods, we have (1) identified spatiotemporal changes in tissue structure, cell composition, and signaling associated with androgen deprivation in a murine model; (2) determined putative biomarkers in prostate cancer biopsies that may improve the accuracy of tumor grading; and (3) delineated a mechanism through which renal clear cell carcinoma progresses to a renal sarcomatoid cancer subtype. These studies demonstrate how single-cell and spatial analytic methods can inform both mechanistic and translational studies.
Image Cytometry 2
Room: Fintry
Session Chairs: Uttara Chakraborty & Ziv Porat
High throughput deformability cytometry for the mechanical fingerprinting of adherent cells
Rui Pedro Pereira Sousa, MSc
- PhD candidate, University of Strathclyde
Implementation of pixel-by-pixel autofluorescence corrected FRET in confocal fluorescence microscopy based digital pathology
György Vereb, MD, PhD
- Professor, University of Debrecen
Label-free invigilation of T-cell subpopulations activation progress with large-scale imaging flow cytometry
CHI KAI HO
- Research Associate, Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre/The University of Hong Kong
Development of a T-cell activation panel using image cytometry in rheumatoid arthritis patient samples
Scott Cribbes, PhD
- Market Development Leader : Cellular Imaging, Revvity Health Sciences, Inc.
Cell Biology
Room: Kilsyth
Session Chairs: David Galbraith & Munyaradzi Musvosvi
Massively parallel compartmentalization of cells enables in-depth characterization of CAR-T functional properties
Gary Schroth, PhD
- Head (SVP) of Collaborations, Applications, and Assay Development, Cellanome
Correlating NAD(P)H lifetime shifts to treatment of breast cancer cells: a metabolic screening study with time-resolved flow cytometry in developing tamoxifen resistance in MCF-7 cells and optical redox ratio analysis potential
Samantha Valentino
- PhD Student, New Mexico State University
Control of neural stem cell fate determination in Huntington’s disease by ATP and spontaneous calcium oscillations investigated by live cell imaging
Henning Ulrich, PhD
- Full Professor of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo
Pro-inflammatory cytokine primed Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells: their impact on inflammatory conditions
Sangeeta Choudhury, PhD
- Professor & Senior Consultant, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
Clinical/Translational Research 2
Room: Moorfoot
Session Chairs: Derek Davies & Rachael Sheridan
A Phase IIa Clinical Trial of KAND567, Fractalkine receptor inhibitor, in patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
Yasemin Ekinci
- PhD student, Newcastle Uniiversity
Metabolic pathways engaged by antigen-specific T and B cells after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in multiple sclerosis patients on different immunomodulatory drugs reveal immunosenescence and predict vaccine efficacy.
Sara De Biasi, PhD
- Dr., University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
The Influence of Fixation and Cryopreservation of Cerebrospinal Fluid on Antigen Expression and Cell Percentages by Flow Cytometric Analysis
Gabriela Singh, PhD
- Postgraduate student, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town
ASI for childhood leukemia at Mexico: a national strategy for a useful and effective immunophenotype report
Lourdes Arriaga-Pizano, PhD, MD
- Chair of Associated Societies, ISAC
Spectral Cytometry 1
Room: Pentland
Session Chairs: Shonna Johnson & Oliver Burton
An optimized 50-color immunophenotyping panel to study T cells and antigen-presenting cells in human blood and tumor tissues
Florian Mair, PhD
- Scientific Director of Flow Cytometry Facility, ETH Zurich
High-throughput image-based biophysical fractometry - a new dimension for morphological profiling of cells
Kevin Tsia
- Professor, The University of Hong Kong
Spectral Cell Sorting: You better get it all right before you press start
Rita Dapaah, MSc
- Flow Cytometry technician, Babraham Institute
A 36-Color/38 Marker Full Spectrum Flow Cytometry Panel for the In Depth Immunophenotyping of Human Peripheral and Liver NK Cells
Alberta Paul, PhD
- Senior Scientist, Cytek Biosciences Inc
Data Analysis 2
Room: Sidlaw
Session Chairs: David Novo & Dan Freeman
Unraveling the immunophenotypic landscape and predicting outcome in acute myeloid leukemia using computational cytometry
Sarah Bonte, PhD
- Postdoctoral researcher, VIB-UGent and Ghent University Hospital
Clustering QC in resolving distinct signatures of macrophage progenies in a model of metabolic liver inflammation
Ioannis Panetas, PhD
- Application Scientist, BD Informatics
Interpretable Machine Learning Prediction of Leukemic Cells in Individual Flow Cytometry Samples
Yu Qian, PhD
- Associate Professor, J. Craig Venter Institute
Towards Transparent and Reproducible Flow Cytometry Analyses: Harnessing the Power of Open Source With an Open Pipeline and Workflow
Wesley Wilson, MSc, PhD
- Cancer Researcher & Computational Biology Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
Cytometry Assays
Room: Tinto
Session Chairs: Gert van Isterdael & Eva Orlowski-Oliver
Optimization of a B cell characterization assay that incorporates multiple fluorescently labeled protein probes
Shayne Andrew, BS
- Biologist, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Vaccine Research Center
Novel kinetic phenotypes of activated T cells identified by time-lapse flow cytometry
Marissa Fahlberg, PhD
- Director of Applications, LASE Innovation
Double emulsions made easy: unlocking ultra high-throughput assays for all
Wannes Nauwynck
- Doctoral researcher, Ghent University
Maintaining intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) assay concordance across continents
Erica Smit, BSc
- Flow Cytometry Technical Specialist, Cape Town HVTN Immunology Laboratory, HCRISA
Room: Sidlaw
Breaking Habits: Converting Users from Conventional to Spectral Flow
Shared Resource Laboratories must always strive to be resourceful and maintain relevance by keeping abreast of new technologies. The new era of spectral flow cytometry is well upon us and SRLs are faced with the challenge of winning customers over with this technology. There’s no doubt that spectral flow has many advantages, but how can SRLs convince their users that now is the time to make the switch to the new technology? Can SRLs simply use the same training program they have used when training on conventional flow cytometers? If this were true, would that template work for all types of users/learners? Would a specialized training based on the specific user or instrument be more effective?
We interviewed non-core end users of SRLs with different levels of flow experience and background to gain more insight on what works and where the pain points are in converting from conventional to spectral flow. Interview questions broadly covered the following topics:
• User flow cytometry experience.
• Description of user’s test experiment such as:
- The goal(s) of the experiment
- Size of panel, number of colors
- Sample type – T cell, PBMC, cell lines, bacteria, other non-traditional samples
• The challenges encountered while adapting to spectral flow. Were user expectations met?
The purpose of this workshop is to marry the expectations of the users gleaned from the interviews with how SRLs currently deal with the introduction of new technology and the impact that it has on education and training. A pre-workshop questionnaire will also be distributed to SRLs to allow non-attendees to input.
Derek Davies - Cytometry Trainer, Educator and Consultant, Derek Davies Cytometry
Marjorie Ison-Dugenny - Associate Scientist, Kite Pharma
Kewal Asosingh, PhD - Associate Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Room: Kilsyth
Crafting and Testing a Modular Standard Curriculum for Basic Flow Cytometry Education
Flow Cytometry Shared Resource Laboratories (SRLs) play a pivotal role in researchers’ education and training in flow cytometry.. SRLs offer consultancy, expertise and education to promote good practices and generate robust, reproducible and reliable data. In our previous workshop during CYTO2023, which was attended by over one hundred people, the main hurdles related to user training were lack of time and/or staff dedicated to develop educational resources, user training and evaluation of the user base. In accordance, the vast majority of the audience demonstrated a high interest in implementing a common, validated curriculum for flow cytometry education. The overall consensus was that such a curriculum should have a modular structure, enabling each SRL to easily adapt it to its particular needs.
The aim of this new workshop is to build upon our prior observations: (1) reach a consensus about the contents that should be included in the modular standardized curriculum for flow cytometry education; (2) discuss possible strategies and implementation of the standardized curriculum, starting with a limited volunteer group of small SRLs; (3) discuss strategies to assess the success of the implementation process and the effectiveness of the education program.
Gelo de la Cruz - Flow Cytometry Platform Manager, University of Copenhagen - reNEW
Marta Monteiro, PhD - Head of Flow Cytometry, Gulbenkian Science Institute
Room: Moorfoot
How Sensitive is Your Flow Cytometry and How to Make the Most of It?
In all applications of flow cytometry, understanding performance limits of the assays can be critical to ensure appropriate data interpretation. This becomes particularly critical in translational sciences in which the flow cytometry data can be used to help make Go or No Go decisions for clinical programs. Furthermore, when used in clinical trials and diagnostics, flow cytometry data may be used for medical decision making for patients, therefore proper assay limits are important. No matter the laboratory environment, a good understanding of assay performance is needed to generate good data! Based on this, assay validation and assessment of assay sensitivity for critical measurements is recommended and sometimes mandatory (in instances of CAR-T, minimal residual disease or rare populations detection for example). Sensitivity measurements can be defined as the limits at which one assay can reliably detect (limit of detection) or quantify (limit of quantitation) a specific cell population or a marker of interest.
The determination of these sensitivity thresholds often requires complex experimental setups and would formally require the preparation of fully negative validation samples and low level validation samples, both of which can be very challenging to obtain or engineer. In addition, the calculations and applications of such sensitivity thresholds in datasets remain a subject of discussion and debate among cytometrists.
This workshop will provide discussion opportunities on strategies to address flow assay sensitivity determination challenges. Key questions that would be answered through discussion groups include the following:
1. How do you design the appropriate experiments to determine how sensitive your flow cytometry assay is?
2. What can you measure to assess sensitivity?
3. Which minimal requirements do you need for assay sensitivity determination?
4. In which measurement units (%, absolute counts or MFI) should you set your sensitivity thresholds? How to use it for your data interpretation?
Christèle Gonneau, PhD - Principal Scientist, Flow Cytometry, Labcorp Drug Development
Room: Pentland
Integrative Analysis of High-Dimensional Cytometry and Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Data
In this workshop, we explore the latest advancements in high-dimensional cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) technologies, with a specific focus on CITE-seq - a technique that combines scRNA-seq with cell surface protein measurements that enable simultaneously profiling of gene expression and protein abundance at the single-cell level. Despite the wealth of data generated by these technologies, a notable gap exists in computational strategies for their joint analysis. Integration of CITE-seq and cytometry data (1) provides a deeper biological insight that would otherwise be missed when analysing each modality separately, and (2) enhances the use of a plethora of single-cell reference atlases, like the Human Cell Atlas, available today.
We have developed methods to integrate data from diverse cytometry and CITE-seq technologies, aiming to facilitate the transfer of information between reference CITE-seq data and query cytometry datasets. This includes adapting batch integration techniques from the scRNA-seq field, such as Harmony, rPCA, and CCA, for cytometry and CITE-seq data integration. Further, we are investigating the application of k-nearest neighbour (kNN), mutual-nearest neighbour (mNN) classifications, and FlowSOM-based grid mapping for transferring cell type labels from CITE-seq to cytometry data post integration.
However, these approaches have inherent limitations. For instance, cell types identified using both RNA and protein measurements in CITE-seq may not be discernible in cytometry data that only measures protein. Similarly, challenges arise when identifying cell types in cytometry data using proteins not quantified in CITE-seq. A potential solution is the imputation of protein expression based on RNA expression, although this is complicated by the heterogeneous concordance between RNA and protein expression levels.
Finally, the workshop will address bridge integration methods from the scRNA-seq field, such as sketch, stabmap, and scArches, designed to integrate data with mismatching modalities. While these methods show promise, their effectiveness and scalability in integrating large cytometry datasets or conventional or spectral flow cytometry datasets with CITE-seq data require further exploration. Key Discussion Topics:
1) Optimising pre-processing steps. Successful integration relies heavily on the manner in which both data modalities are pre-processed. Can we leverage existing methods like PeacoQC for this purpose?
2) Challenges in identifying unique cell types: Addressing the difficulty of identifying cell types that require features unique to each modality. How can we feasibly impute missing features considering the varied concordance between gene and protein expression? How can we further evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of bridge integration methods?
3) Beyond cell type annotation in joint analysis: Exploring the possibilities of joint analysis methods post-integration, beyond cell type annotation transfer. This will include brainstorming novel analytical approaches that could emerge from the integration of cytometry and CITE-seq data.
Givanna Putri, PhD - Postdoctoral Researcher, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Room: Fintry
Intelligently Integrating Artificial Intelligence Into Cytometry
With the emergence of ChatGPT, discussions about the need for, and impact of, artificial intelligence (AI) are taking place within widely disparate fields. Across cytometry, we have a long history of working with AI tools, particularly machine learning, without defining these tools as AI per se. To fully take advantage of emerging approaches, we as cytometrists need a better understanding of AI and its sub-disciplines, and to integrate that understanding with our own experimental design, data acquisition, and data analysis needs. This workshop will pose the following questions, with the goal of defining a pathway for development and integration of AI tools into cytometry studies:
1) What is (and isn’t) AI?
2) What steps in our experimental workflows might benefit from AI?
3) Can AI help us better interpret the results of our cytometry studies?
Dan Freeman - Founder and CEO of terraFlow Bioinformatics, PhD Candidate at Harvard Medical School (Computational Biology), terraFlow, Harvard Medical School
Pratip Chattopadhyay, PhD - Founder and CEO of Talon Biomarkers, Co-Founder and CSO terraFlow Bioinformatics, Talon Biomarkers, terraFlow Bioinformatics
Rui Gardner, PhD - Head of Flow Cytometry Facility at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Teamwork makes the dream work: how the ISAC Leadership Development Programs enable new science through innovation, discovery, and collaboration
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chair: Jonathan Irish, PhD & Kathy Daniels
Peter Mage, PhD
-
Enabling Science: Pushing the limits of commercial cytometry technology to power discovery
The history of cytometry began with a tight collaboration between scientists pushing the bounds of discovery and technologists inventing new capabilities. There was a lot of money to be made along the way, and thus the cytometry industry was born. In this talk, we will examine some recent examples of how collaboration still drives discovery and commercial innovation today, from new single-cell measurement modalities to expansions in assay plexity and resolution. Some perspectives will be shared on the challenges and opportunities that arise from aligning scientific needs, technological capabilities, and commercial viability.
Gert Van Isterdael
-
Enabling Science with SRLs: 'The Space to Be'—Where experts, science, technology, and dreams come together.
In the fast-paced world of science and technology, Shared Resource Laboratories (SRLs) have emerged as pivotal hubs of innovation and discovery. These collaborative spaces bring together scientists with diverse expertise creating a dynamic environment that sparks groundbreaking advancements. In this talk I will share our journey on how we gradually transformed our SRL, guided by best practices guidelines from the ISAC community, into a state-of-the-art facility where we carefully foster a culture of collaboration with research teams, bioinformaticians and technology developers.
Sofie Van Gassen, PhD
-
Enabling Science: Development of computational cytometry tools driven by cytometrists needs
In the last decade, there have been many impressive technological advances in the field of cytometry. While this can allow for unprecedented biological insights, it also comes with several challenges regarding data analysis. This has been the main driver in our development of computational cytometry tools, including clustering, quality control, and more.
Charlotte Scott, PhD
-
Enabling Science: Bringing together innovation, discovery and collaboration to investigate hepatic macrophage heterogeneity in health and disease.
In this talk, we will discuss how utilizing innovative technology and collaborating with SRL leaders and bioinformaticians has allowed us to profile the distinct subpopulations of macrophages present in the highly autofluorescent fibrotic liver, leading to insights into the biology and functional relevance of these cells.
Immunology Frontier
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs: Virginia Litwin, PhD & Kirstie Bertram
Andrew McKenzie, PhD -
Combinatorial transcription factor reporters enlighten lymphocyte developmental pathways and CRISPR screens
Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and adaptive T helper 2 (Th2) cells help orchestrate tissue homeostasis, allergic disorders, and anti-helminth protective type-2 immunity through their production of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-13, IL-5, and IL-5. To discover the developmental trajectories of ILCs during their development, we generated a spectrum of transcription factor (TF) reporter mice. These mice can be interbred to provide a readout of previously undetectable transcription factor expression in live cells during the differentiation of lymphocytes, thereby allowing their purification from haematopoietic tissues and in vitro analysis. By combining fluorescent proteins and cell surface reporters, we have produced 6x polychromILC TF reporter mice, including Id2+/BFP, Gata3+/hCD2, Rora+/Teal, Bcl11b+/tdTomato, Rorc+/Katushka, and T-bet+/hCD4, which we have used to define ILC1/NK cells, ILC2, and ILC3 development. Furthermore, using lymphocyte progenitors from multi-reporter mouse strains, we have employed unbiased CRISPR-Cas9 screening to uncover previously unappreciated regulators of ILC2 and Th2 cell development and type-2 biology. Thus, these approaches have allowed us to identify new regulators of type-2 immunity, which may represent new therapeutic targets in allergic disease.
Doreen Cantrell, PhD -
Regulating protein synthesis and degradation in T lymphocytes: Insights from flow cytometry and mass spectrometry
CD8 T-lymphocytes are key mediators of anti-viral and anti-tumour immune responses. CD8-T-cell differentiation to effectors is achieved via transcriptional rewiring and changes in rates of protein synthesis and degradation that drive the proteome remodelling that is required for T cells to control immune responses.
CD8 T cell differentiation is driven by antigen receptors, co-stimulatory molecules, cytokines. One key function for these immune stimuli is to regulate the expression of amino acid transporters that fuel the high levels of protein synthesis needed for T cell clonal expansion and the production of effector molecules. This regulation of amino acid transport is also critical to control autophagy in T cells a major pathway for protein degradation that is needed for naïve T cell homeostasis and for effector/ memory CD8 T cell transition. This presentation will discuss how flow cytometry in conjunction with high resolution mass spectrometry has informed what we know about the control of protein synthesis and protein degradation pathways in CD8 T cells.
Image Cytometry 3
Room: Fintry
Session Chairs: Dominic Jenner & André Görgens
3D imaging flow cytometry - seeing the full picture
Kevin Serradas O'Holleran - CEO, ZOMP
What can we obtain from a single blood sample from cancer patients using imaging flow cytometry?
Natalia Bednarz-Knoll, PhD
- Professor Assisstant, Medical University of Gdańsk
Imaging tuberculosis granulomas reveals correlation between NK cell-macrophage interactions and improved mycobacterial control
Paula Niewold, PhD
- Postdoc, Leiden University Medical Centre
Rapid Identification of Cellular Senescence Using Spectral and imaging Flow Cytometry
Radhika Patel, MSc
- Senior Scientist, AstraZeneca
Clinical/Translational Research 3
Room: Kilsyth
Session Chairs: Henning Ulrich & Lauren Nettenstrom
Detailed immunophenotypization of pediatric septic patients revealed the features of long-lasting immunosuppression.
Marcela Hortova-Kohoutkova, PhD
- Post doc, FNUSA-ICRC
Reduced immune-cell infiltration in MHC class I negative Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Kanutte Huse, PhD
- Research scientist, Oslo University Hospital
Immune signature, brain injury biomarkers and FOXP4 genetic variants in neuro post-COVID syndrome after mild SARS-COV-2 infection
Katarzyna Piwocka, Dr.
- PI, Head of Laboratory, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology
Integration of Comprehensive Immunophenotypic Strategies to Enable Equity in Remote Settings for Improved Clinical Trial Reach
Helen McGuire, PhD
- Senior Lecturer, The University of Sydney
Extracellular Vesicles
Room: Moorfoot
Session Chairs: Vera Tang & David Gravano
Critical Assessment of Biological Reference Materials for Translational EV Flow Cytometry
Desmond Pink, PhD
- CSO, Nanostics
Integrated solution for Extracellular Vesicles detection and characterization in diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
Kamil Szeliski, PhD
- Assistant, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun
Simulating light scattering signals measured by flow cytometry to understand swarm detection
Mendel Engelaer, MSc
- PhD candidate, Amsterdam UMC
Dielectrophoretic force based “kairos” sorting of biomarker-positive extracellular vesicles from patient samples.
Vivian Triana, MSc
- Technician, Nanostics
Immunology 2
Room: Pentland
Session Chairs: Mario Roederer & Jakob Zimmerman
Impact of Cytokines and Soluble Plasma Proteins on the Immune Profile of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients
Antonin Ptacek, MSc
- Scientist, Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion
Multi dimensional single cell and pseudotime analysis shows the phenotypic diversity of human macrophages when cocultured with a bioengineered allogeneic cellularized construct (BACC)
Beatriz Hernaez Estrada, PhD
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Drexel University
In situ multi-element analysis of splenocytes using laser ablation imaging mass cytometry
Darryl Johnson, PhD
- Academic Specialist, Materials Characterisation and Fabrication, The University of Melbourne
Functional Screening for Discovery of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Constructs and T Cell Receptor (TCRs) Using Nanovials as Artificial Antigen-Presenting Cells
Citradewi Soemardy, BS
- PhD Student, UCLA
Data Analysis 3
Room: Sidlaw
Session Chairs: Evan Jellison & Felix Marsh-Wakefield
ChatGPT meet Metaflow: A new AI for reproducible and robust rare cell detection
Jack Panopoulos, PhD.
- Director of Sales and Market Development, Metafora biosystems inc.
A framework for quantifiable local and global structure preservation in dimensionality reduction of cytometry data
David Novak, MSc
- PhD student, Center for Inflammation Research, VIB-UGent
Get relevant post-clustering analyses quickly
Samuel Granjeaud, PhD
- Research Engineer, CRCM, Inserm
Determination of Cell Viability using High-Dimensional Morphology Analysis
Stephane Boutet, PhD
- Senior Director, Application Development, Deepcell, Inc
Novel Cytometry Applications 2
Room: Tinto
Session Chairs: Nicole Poulton & Fan Xiong
High Throughput Phage-Host Matching with PHLOW
Teagan Paton
- Research Officer, University of Western Australia
Lost at sea – A Search and Rescue mission for Phytoplankton utilizing automated gating strategies for high-dimensional cytometry data
Moritz Winker, PhD
- ARISE fellow, EMBL
Bacterial mock communities as standards for reproducible cytometric microbiome analysis
Susann Mueller, Prof. Dr.
- Senior Scientist, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
High-throughput screening of fast-growing cyanobacteria cells by FlowRACS
Bo Ma
- Professor, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Room: Kilsyth
ChatFLOW
AI has attracted a lot of attention of various sectors of life. It helps in routine tasks automation, thus reduces errors rate and costs. AI facilitates processes but also brings to speed research by providing more data and prompt multidimensional insight into them, allowing to understand phenomena, scientists have been trying to explain. Instruments standardization has not been achieved globally and remains to be an issue. Progress on the front of hardware development employing more biophysical methods and generating new data formats introduce a question of methods comparability therefore adds even more complexity.
Now when AI conquer the world can it also help in furthering growth of flow cytometry? Will it help to find a golden grail of instrument standardization? Will it remove the issue of lack of process harmonization?
This workshop will continue discussions and the outcomes from our last CYTO 2022 and 2023 workshops on AI tools in flow cytometry. Discussions will gravitate towards usability of AI in flow cytometry, namely where it will provide a major value.
Kamila Czechowska, PhD - Chief of Diagnostic Product Development Officer, Metafora Biosystems
Josef Spidlen, PhD - Senior Director, R&D Informatics, BD, Becton, Dickinson and Company
Veronica Nash, PhD - US Regional Head of Flow Cytometry, Cerba Research
Wolfgang Kern, PhD - CEO, MLL
Ryan Brinkman, PhD - Professor (Emeritus); VP and Reseach Director, Dottmatics
Goce Bogdanoski, PhD - Director, Precision Medicine and Digital Health Quality, BMS, Bristol Myers Squibb
Anagha Divekar, PhD - Head, Custom Solutions Team/ Senior Scientist, Cell Analysis at BioLegend, BioLegend
Jordi Petriz, PhD - Group Leader Scientist, Institut de Recerca Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP)
Room: Sidlaw
Cytomics Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Cytometry in Marine, Environmental, Zoology, and Plant Sciences
Cytometric analysis faces complex challenges in understanding diverse environments, from marine to soil, wildlife and plants, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative data science methodologies to navigate complexities in data analysis and obtain precise results.
In the ocean, a huge variety of microorganisms and debris are present, however with a low density impeding the isolation of target cells. Soil also brings its own issues, clumping particles, matrix interference and low microbial density, posing difficulties in identifying and counting microbes accurately. Zoological samples exhibit cell heterogeneity and variable viability, particularly challenging in field settings, while plant science contends with cell wall complexities and chlorophyll interference. Overall, there are common problems across these environmental samples including dealing with background noise, variable particle size, autofluorescence, avoiding contamination, working with low sample volumes or densities and the lack of specific markers (i.e. antibodies for immunological studies in wild animals) due to a. significant heterogeneity of these cells b. lack of commercial interest to the main manufacturers.
Data analysis comes with challenges like figuring out the best way to process high-dimensional data, and handling situations where there is not much data to work with. Overcoming these challenges requires scientists from different fields to work together, using innovative methods to get the best and most accurate results in environmental studies, which is becoming important considering the era of climate change and pandemics.
1. How can flow cytometry advancements enhance our understanding of our biodiversity in various ecosystems such as marine, wildlife and plants?
2. In what ways can Cytomics aid in the early detection and monitoring of environmental changes in those ecosystems?
3. Where do current traditional methodologies fall short in applying cytometry to environmental studies?
4. Given the significant heterogeneity in cell populations across diverse environmental samples, what approaches and strategies can be established to create universally applicable gating strategies and data normalization methods?
5. How can advanced analytical methods effectively handle the increased dimensionality of cytometric data from marine, soil, zoological, and plant samples, ensuring meaningful insights and accurate interpretation?
Nicole Poulton, PhD - Director, Center for Aquatic Cytometry, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Alfonso Blanco, PhD - Scientific Director of the Core Technologies and Director of the Flow Cytometry Core Technologies, UCD-Conway Institute
Attila Bebes, PhD - Cytometry Experimental Officer, Centre for Cytomics, University of Exeter
Raif Yuecel, PhD - Director, Centre for Cytomics, Biosciences, University of Exeter
Room: Pentland
Data Preprocessing Practices and Algorithms: Bridging Between Developers and Users
Preprocessing is, or should be, a major part of cytometry data analysis. It involves compensation and transformation, removal of debris, dead cells and events that are not of interest and verification of quality within and consistency between the files. There is no real consensus on the order of the steps, and neither are there metrics to evaluate the quality of each preprocessing step. It is thus up to the individual researcher to design their own preprocessing pipeline. This can be done partially by manual gating, but more and more computational tools are now available in coding environments like R and Python. As these are not always the most user-friendly for users without a bioinformatics background, some of the tools have also been incorporated into commercial solutions, where the algorithms from the computational pipeline are accessible through graphical user interfaces. Independent of the platform of choice, some general principles and specific considerations are involved in the preprocessing.
Main points to discuss are listed below. The first point was also discussed in our workshop last year, but there was lots of interest then and we feel the conversation should still be continued.
1. What are the different preprocessing steps; which steps are required, which are optional? Which steps require a batch approach? How can they be evaluated? Are there common technical steps that alter the preprocessing outcome?
2. How can they be made accessible to users without a bioinformatics background? Which guidance is needed in the commercial platforms (e.g. information on which steps to include, how parameter choices influence the final outcome, …)?
3. How is the decision made to implement novel tools in the commercial platforms?"
Katrien Quintelier, MSc - PhD Researcher, VIB-UGent
Room: Moorfoot
Ensuring Rigor and Reproducibility in Flow Cytometry Experiments: Essential Record-Keeping Guidelines
This workshop delves into the critical stages of flow cytometry experiments, from conception to data analysis, with a focus on the often-overlooked but crucial aspect of record-keeping. In any flow cytometry experiment, critical stages encompass the formulation of the biological question, the design and optimization of the panel, the labeling process, sample acquisition, and subsequent data analysis. SRL users perform several of these crucial steps within their own research laboratories. In these external labs, the established recordkeeping practices of the SRL may not be applicable or followed. For extracellular vesicle studies, Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (MISEV), establishes comprehensive and detailed guidelines on these topics. MIFlowCyt offers criteria for documenting and reporting comprehensive flow cytometry experiment details, including samples, instrumentation, and data analysis intended for publication. However, it does not provide guidance for the routine, day-to-day recording of experiments in laboratory notebooks. During this workshop, our aim is to collaboratively create a comprehensive record-keeping framework, tailored to the unique needs of flow cytometry, that enhances both rigor and reproducibility in research. This framework may serve as an effective tool that enables participants to establish the standards for good record-keeping in flow cytometry experiments within their institutions.
Additionally, it's worth noting the importance of effective data management in preparation for downstream data mining and algorithmic analysis. Proper file naming conventions and comprehensive metadata incorporation are often the biggest bottleneck to algorithmic analysis. Discussion of these key points and how to incorporate them into Good Record Keeping and Data Management workflows not only ensure traceability and reproducibility but also serve as essential components of efficient data analysis. Adhering to clear and consistent naming practices can preempt software compatibility issues and enable smoother automated processing. Moreover, robust metadata imparts essential contextual information, streamlining data interpretation, integration, and comparative analyses. The interactive component of this workshop will explore the long-term practical implications of the simple choices we make in naming our files and metadata parameters. The goal is to equip attendees with the insight to preemptively recognize and address potential hurdles, ensuring data comes off a flow cytometer readily usable for downstream analysis without extensive data cleaning or preparation.
Kewal Asosingh, PhD - Associate Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Arielle Ginsberg, MSc, SCYM(ASCP)CM - CCO, terraFlow Bioinformatics and Talon Biomarkers
Michael Gregory, MSc, SCYM(ASCP)CM - Director, Caltech Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility California Institute of Technology
Room: Fintry
Potential and Challenges of Clinical High-Dimensional Flow Cytometry
Flow cytometry is a key element of the clinical biomarker strategies in most clinical programs, providing critical insights relevant during MoA evaluation of clinical target molecules. It is regularly used to assess drug efficacy, pharmacodynamics, potency, and toxicity in human clinical trials. In early phase trials, the flow cytometry data often informs drug dosing and other clinical decisions and therefore it requires a short data turnaround time for data access.
In recent years, clinical biomarker strategies also consider translational research aspects. Thus, more complex high-dimensional flow cytometry assays are implemented, aiming to increase the exploratory potential generated. However, these high-dimensional assays increase the complexity and timelines for assay development, validation, and downstream data analysis.
Recent advancements in the technology as well as automated and unsupervised data analysis show promising potential to overcome these barriers. Nevertheless, these tools have not been developed with the logistics and technical and regulatory requirements of clinical trials in mind. Therefore, our workshop aims to:
- Find consensus on the added value of high-dimensional vs targeted, low-parameter flow cytometry assays in clinical trials. We aim to consider various parameters such as requirements for validation, operational and logistical challenges, and associated costs. We will balance how these challenges compare to the benefit of more in-depth immunophenotyping data in clinical trials.
- A variety of supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised data analysis strategies exists, each with their own pros and cons. Currently there is no consensus on which analysis strategy is closer to the ground truth, which remains mostly determined by manual gating. Here we aim to find consensus on best-suited data analysis approaches beyond manual gating for exploratory data analysis in clinical trials.
To this end we will leverage panelist discussions, will shortly introduce concrete examples to illustrate the two points above mentioned. We will create open discussions with the audience using interactive live polls to capture the diverse opinions and attempt to reach consensus on the two topics described above.
Thomas Liechti, PhD - Scientist, Genentech R&D (gRED- Roche)
Enrique Gomez Alcaide, PhD - Senior Principal Scientist, Roche
Global Health Plenary
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs: John Nolan, PhD & Helen McGuire
Elisa Nemes, PhD -
How is cytometry helping us fighting tuberculosis?
I will illustrate several examples from the field on cytometry applications for tuberculosis immunodiagnostics, vaccine development and immuno-monitoring studies, as well as emerging application in One Health research.
Melissa Wu, PhD -
Increasing global access to the transformative power of science
Scientific research is the most powerful tool the world has to help humanity thrive. However, the concentration of funding and laboratories means that globally, research heavily favors serving the needs of people in the richest countries, at the expense of solutions tailored to communities in need. Activating science to serve the world's poorest countries may seem like an impossible challenge. Yet, by combining resources from over 200 organizations, Seeding Labs has created a model of resource-sharing that has significantly lowered barriers to scientific progress in developing countries. In our Instrumental Access program, we have equipped over 100 universities with $48M in much-needed laboratory equipment. With this support, scientific leaders in 40 countries are creating a foundation of science benefiting their communities for generations to come. They are training the next generation of health workers, providing research that enables local health systems to be context-based, adaptive, and personalized, and building sustainable institutions so that millions of people will not just survive, but thrive. In this presentation, we share how we are bringing together a global network to distribute resources that catalyze the efforts of scientific leaders in developing countries to transform the world.
Lyana Setiawan, MD, PhD
2024 Howard Shapiro Award Winner
-
Advancement of Flowcytometry in Indonesia: Past, Present and Future
Flow Cytometry has been introduced to Indonesia since the early 1990s, but its use and application had been limited. In the past 10 years, flow cytometry in Indonesia has advanced in popularity, population of instruments, and clinical and research applications. These advancements are enabled by several factors, of which education and workshops are of utmost importance. The presentation will cover the factors driving the advancement of flow cytometry, current situation and future direction in Indonesia.
Robert Hooke Lecture
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs: Rachael Walker, PhD; Bill Telford, PhD
Professor Sir Stephen P. Jackson, PhD -
Cellular Responses to DNA Damage: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Applications
As DNA is frequently subject to a wide array of molecularly distinct forms of damage, life has evolved various DNA repair mechanisms and associated processes, collectively termed the DNA-damage response (DDR). The importance of DNA repair and DDR mechanisms is underlined by their deregulation or loss causing cancer and various human genetic disorders whose pathologies include stem-cell exhaustion, developmental defects, infertility, immune-deficiency, neurodegeneration, and/or premature aging. Work in my laboratory aims to decipher DDR mechanisms, particularly those triggered by DNA double-strand breaks. In this talk, after first surveying DDR processes and their biological importance, I will explain how our past work has identified new avenues for anti-cancer therapy: leading to DDR-enzyme targeted drugs being explored in clinical trials and the blockbuster drug olaparib/Lynparza that has been used to treat breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer patients worldwide. I will then describe some of our recent work combining CRISPR-based genome engineering and genetic screens with mechanistic studies to identify new DDR factors/regulators and define their functions, and also identify and understand cross-talks and functional interactions between DDR components. Finally, I will explain how our current work is helping us understand how cancer cells can evolve resistance to therapeutic agents and is giving rise to translational opportunities for the treatment of cancer and various debilitating inherited genetic diseases.
Stem Cells/Tissue Engineering Frontier
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs: Bartek Rajwa, PhD & Paula Niewold
David Kent, PhD -
Seeing is believing: Unlocking new research questions using image enabled cell sorting
Recent advances in single-cell technologies have allowed for the functional and molecular profiling of rare cell populations to be done on an unprecedented scale. From single-cell gene expression profiling to single-cell functional assays, research on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells has been at the forefront of this technological development due to rich historic datasets, ease of accessibility, and robust functional assays. Here, we use the newly launched BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter to unlock new questions in hematopoietic cell biology, using the relative location and intensity of fluorescent markers in tandem with in vitro and in vivo functional assays.
Justyna Drukała, Phd -
In vitro cultured tissue-engineered products in skin regeneration – clinical experience
This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent advancements in tissue engineering techniques and their practical application in the field of wound healing, with a particular focus on burn treatment. Additionally, the talk will examine the broader potential impact of ATMPs in regenerative medicine and the challenges associated with maintaining quality assurance and adherence to GMP standards during the manufacturing process of ATMPs. This presented research is sponsored by the Polish National Transplant Program 2023-2032.
Shared Resource Laboratory
Room: Fintry
Session Chairs: Aja Rieger & Marjolijn Hameetman
A Balancing Act: Acquiring and Maintaining ISO17025 Accreditation in a Shared Resource Laboratory
Amanda Stanley, PhD
- Flow Cytometry Analyst, QIMR Berghofer
Boosting Productivity: Maximizing SRL Efficiency with Live Dashboards
Julie Van Duyse
- Flow Cytometry Expert, VIB-Ghent University
International Flow Cytometer Donations: The National Cancer Institute experience at 20 years
William Telford, PhD
- Senior Associate Scientist, National Cancer Institute
A large number of parameters implies large responsibilities: how do you successfully switch from conventional to spectral on platforms?
Anne-Laure Iscache
- SRL Engineer, Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases
Biomarkers and Diagnostics
Room: Kilsyth
Session Chairs: Paul Hutchinson & André Mozes
Ultra-sensitive molecular MRD on flow cytometer using superRCA mutation assay
Lei Chen, PhD
- Researcher, Uppsala University
Fantastic yeasts and how to kill them – rapid antifungal susceptibility testing by flow cytometry
Kieran Mulroney, PhD
- Research Fellow, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
The validation of a Multiple Myeloma Minimal Residual Disease Flow Cytometry assay for use in multi-centric clinical trials.
Christele Gonneau, PhD
- Principal Scientist, Flow Cytometry, Labcorp Drug Development
Multiple Myeloma: Diagnosis, Prognosis and Monitoring by Imaging Flow Cytometry
Kathy Fuller, PhD
- Associate Professor of Translational Oncology, University of Western Australia
Label Free Applications
Room: Moorfoot
Session Chairs: Gelo de la Cruz & Axel Schulz
Label-free high dimensional single cell morphological profiling of hematological malignancies with VisionSort
Janette Phi
- Chief Business Officer, ThinkCyte Inc.
Label-free morphometric characterization of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) differentiation to Neural Progenitor Cells (NPCs) for cell and gene therapy research and development.
Willem Westra, PhD
- VP Business Development & Marketing, ThinkCyte Inc.
Self-supervised deep learning enables label-free high-dimensional morphology profiling of immune cell subtypes
Maddison Masaeli, PhD
- Chief Executive Officer, Deepcell, Inc
Label-Free Safety and Efficacy Profiling of IPSC-Derived Spinal Cord Progenitor Cells Using Microfluidic Impedance Biophysical Cytometry
Linwei He
- PhD student, Nanyang Technological University
Spectral Cytometry 2
Room: Pentland
Session Chairs: Anna Belkina & Christopher Hall
High-dimensional immune profiling in health and disease with a 43-parameter spectral flow cytometry panel
Laurien Waaijer, MSc
- PhD Student, RadboudUMC
Panel Hotspot Analysis predicts unmixing-dependent spread in spectral panels
Peter Mage, PhD
- Associate Principal Engineer, BD Biosciences
Use of a 42-color spectral flow cytometry panel for deep analysis of immune responses following administration of a VSV-Lassa virus vaccine in a cynomolgus macaque model
Alyssa Fears, MPH&TM, PhD
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Texas Medical Branch
Combination of Four High Parameter Conventional Flow Cytometry Panels into One Spectral Flow Cytometry Panel for Translating Cellular Responses in Pre-clinical Non-Human Primate SIV Models to a Human Phase I HIV Vaccine Clinical Trial
Katherine McKinnon, BS
- Senior Associate Scientist, National Cancer Institute
Cytometric Hardware
Room: Sidlaw
Session Chairs: Raif Yuecel & Daniel Kage
A versatile three-dimensional microfluidic cell focusing method for high-throughput imaging flow cytometry
Kelvin C. M. Lee, PhD
- Post-doctoral fellow, The University of Hong Kong
Imaging flow cytometry with Structured illumination of linear array spot excitation
Jingjing Zhao, PhD
- Professor, huazhong university of science and technology
Optimized Collimated Excitation Beams for Novel Particle Size and Velocity Measurement in Optofluidic Cytometers
Matthew DiSalvo, PhD
- Biomedical Engineer, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Refinements to the Calculation of Q and B
James Wood, PhD
- Manager, Flow Cytometry Shared Resource, Wake Forest School of Medicine
Therapeutic and Drug Discovery
Room: Tinto
Session Chairs: Karen Hogg & Daniel Vocelle
Single cell chemical biology for drug discovery using spectral flow cytometry
Madeline Hayes, BS
- Development Director, Vanderbilt University, Cancer Immunology Core and Irish Lab
Rapid Generation of an Adoptive Cellular Therapeutic (ACT) from Pleural Infiltrating T Cells
Albert Donnenberg, PhD
- Professor, Allegheny Singer Research Institute
Accelerating directed evolution through flow cytometry of cell-encapsulating hollow hydrogel microparticles
Rajesh Ghosh
- PhD Candidate, University of California, Los Angeles
A flow-based high content intracellular phenotypic screening platform combining artificial intelligence (AI)-based morphometric profiling and DNA barcoding
Andy Wu, PhD
- Director, Business & Corporate Development, ThinkCyte Inc.
The Flow you Don’t Know Plenary
Pentland Auditorium
Session Chairs:
Joel Sederstrom & Peter Mage
Hannah Murray, MSc -
Using Flow Cytometry in the Whisky Industry
A presentation from the Scotch Whisky Research Institute will discuss the production of Scotch whisky and its push towards sustainability through scientific innovation. The presentation will focus on the use of flow cytometry in the industry, its current usage, and its potential in the future. The presentation will cover research related to the measurement of yeast stress within fermentation matrices and the challenges posed by industrial science.
James Lambert, PhD -
Life Detection in Water Ice Matrices
The search for extraterrestrial life motivates many of NASA's research endeavors, driving the development of technologies and capabilities to explore potentially habitable worlds within our solar system. The importance of water in supporting life on Earth is recognized, leading to a focus on water-rich locations across our solar system, such as the polar regions of Mars and the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Despite the exciting prospect of discovering life in these realms, the quest for biogenic particles within planetary ices faces significant challenges, including the presumed rarity of such particles. Even on Earth, some glacial ice sheets have been found to have microbial abundances as low as 500 cells/mL. Established analytical instruments, like HPLC, GC/mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, molecular spectroscopy, and epifluorescence microscopy, can all identify microbial life or organic biosignatures, but their efficacy is limited when dealing with vast volumes of water-ice. To address this challenge, an instrument that is capable of isolating, pre-concentrating, and sorting rare biogenic particles in the overwhelming presence of water and silt is needed. To meet the demand, the use of a sorting cytometer with deep UV excitation, utilizing intrinsic fluorescence, fluorescence lifetime, and exogenous dyes, has been adapted for high-throughput screening of extraterrestrial water. This approach allows for the rapid screening, sorting, and concentration of biogenic particles, serving as an initial step before downstream analytical instruments provide comprehensive analysis and characterization.
Giuseppe d'Onofrio, PhD -
Flow Cytometry and blood doping detection
Blood doping involves illicit methods or substances that aim to enhance athletes' performance by increasing the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity to muscles and other organs. This increase in hemoglobin mass can be achieved through blood or red blood cell transfusions, administration of erythropoietin-stimulating agents (such as recombinant human erythropoietin), or injection of synthetic oxygen carriers. Flow cytometry's applications for blood doping detection will be discussed, including the monitoring of blood count parameters using cytometry-based cell counters as a fundamental tool for indirectly detecting blood doping through the Athlete's Biological Passport (ABP). Additionally, allogenic blood transfusion can be detected using flow cytometric identification of red blood cell surface antigens.