In October 2017, the Czech Society for Analytical Cytometry welcomed more than 40 local speakers and 10 international speakers to the International Conference on Analytical Cytometry. The event was planned meticulously and there was an extensive program enjoyed by 250 participants. At an informal starting event, about 40 cytometrists on bikes and in-line skates gathered for ‘scientific bike discussions’ north along the bank of the Vltava river. The 35km trip help to strengthen old relationships forge new ones in surprisingly beautiful weather.
On Saturday evening we learned how important and sometimes overlooked ethics and responsibility are in research. A wonderful speech from Dr. Marek Vácha opened the conference with this uncommon topic and gathered the attention of all those in the varied science fields.
The excellent international invited speakers spoke on Sunday. The day opened with a great talk on chronic lymphocytic leukemia by Andrew C. Rawstron, Leeds. A great presentation on the integration of phenotyping and function testing based on massively multiparameter data and their interpretation was presented by Jonathan Irish from Nashville, USA (Jonathan was supported by International Society for Advancements of Cytometry as the ‘ISAC Lecturer’). The interesting properties of B cells were discussed by Marta Rizzi from Freiburg. Giuseppe Gaipa of Monza (a representative of the Italian ‘Gruppo Italiano de Citometria’) presented an overview of Cytometry in a Cell Factory. An informative data analysis lecture was delivered by Yvan Saes, Ghent and an update on mass cytometry phenotyping was presented by Henrik Mei, Berlin (both ISAC Scholars). At the end of the day the CSAC proudly announced the winners of two annual competitions for the best publications in cytometry. It was a long day with a lot of information, and most participants joined the evening festivities with drinks, food and amazing music!
Monday and Tuesday lectures took place in three different halls. Each of them focused on different topics such as Cell biology, Clinical cases in flow cytometry or Image analysis. A wide range of studies from basic research and clinical cases to technical data and analysis was presented. During coffee breaks and lunch, we could visit some of CSAC partners and sponsors like BD or Beckman Coulter, who had educational lectures for those who were interested.
In hallways, there was presented over a hundred of scientific posters from Cell Biology, Immunology, Clinical Hematology, Imaging Cytometry, Microfluidics, Plant Cytometry or Reproduction Immunology. All were available during the whole conference and in the end, we could congratulate a winner for the best poster.
Full program together with a photogallery is to be found at conference.csac.cz
Finally, many thanks belong to organizers especially Tomáš Kalina, Karel Souček and Rudolf Kinc and of course the whole CSAC Committee!
