CYTO 2026 Scientific Tutorial: Standardization for Precision: Building Best Practices for Automated Cell Sample Preparation Across Multi-Site Flow Cytometry Labs

Standardization for Precision: Building Best Practices for Automated Cell Sample Preparation Across Multi-Site Flow Cytometry Labs

Presenters:
Lili Wang, PhD, Senior Scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Tom Hayday, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Research Officer, IMU Biosciences
John Ferbas, PhD, Senior Director, Cytometry & Imaging Sciences, Amgen
Raffaello Cimbro, PhD, Director of Flow Cytometry, AstraZeneca

Problem Focus/Summary:

Standardization and reproducibility remain the cornerstone challenges in translating high-dimensional flow cytometry data into clinically meaningful outcomes. Recent multi-institutional efforts led by the NIST Flow Cytometry Consortium have accelerated consensus-building on pre-analytical variables, assay standardization and validation frameworks, and data quality benchmarks.

This tutorial will explore how automation and standards are converging to address these challenges—from sample handling to antibody cocktailing and washing—by minimizing operator-driven variability and enabling traceable, reproducible workflows.

This tutorial will explore:

Define and Apply Reference Process Standards
Integrate Automation into Standardized Workflows
Evaluate Cross-Site Validation Strategies

Keywords: Sample Prep, Protocol standardization, Cytometry Hardware, Experimental Design & controls

CMLE Credit: 1.5