CYTO Annual Meeting 2026

Join us for the Premier Congress for Cytometry CYTO 2026, the 39th annual Congress of the International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry, is the premier, inclusive, and international conference on the many facets of cytometry science and engineering. Guided by this year's theme, Cytometry: The Next Wave, the meeting will showcase groundbreaking innovations and emerging directions shaping the field.

HEAR OUR EXPERTS LIVE!

TUTORIAL
Megan McCausland, BSc, Scientific Advisor, Flow Cytometry
TITLE: Panel Gains Without the Pains: Smarter Re-Optimization for High-Parameter Flow
DATE AND TIME: Saturday, June 6 – 10:15 am – 11:30 am
LOCATION: Ballroom A

Assay optimization is essential for achieving reproducible and accurate results in multicolor flow cytometry. Recent advancements in cytometer hardware and fluorochrome chemistries, coupled with the ability to use an expanded number of fluorophores simultaneously, have enabled highly multiparametric assays. These capabilities create opportunities to re-optimize existing panels by adding new markers to gain deeper insights, without compromising resolution or data quality. However, expanding an optimized and/or validated panel is often challenging. Issues such as reagent availability, clone specificity, titer adjustments, and performance variability must be addressed, alongside technical problems like steric hindrance, reagent interactions, and increased spillover spreading. These challenges underscore the need for clear guidance when modifying complex panels. This tutorial will outline a structured approach for re-optimizing previously optimized and/or validated assays, including strategies for selecting optimal fluorochrome replacements or additions, evaluating reagent compatibility, and maintaining optimal resolution across all parameters in an expanded panel. We will walk through real case examples showing how updated panels were revalidated to ensure comparable marker performance, consistent population resolution, and robust identification of all relevant cell subsets after adding new markers. In these examples, careful panel redesign and iterative testing preserved data integrity even as dimensionality increased. Based on these findings, we will propose a practical workflow and a set of best-practice guidelines for panel expansion and re-optimization. This “panel expansion” workflow will serve as a template that participants can apply in their own labs – an increasingly important skill as new fluorochromes and next-generation instruments continue to push the boundaries of high-dimensional flow cytometry.

TUTORIAL
Megan McCausland, BSc, Scientific Advisor, Flow Cytometry
TITLE: Minimum standards and best practices to ensure reproducibility in longitudinal flow cytometry studies
DATE AND TIME: Saturday, June 6 - 2:30pm – 3:34 pm
LOCATION: Ballroom A

Highly reproducible flow cytometry assays are essential for generating robust data in longitudinal studies. These studies offer powerful insights into disease progression, treatment response, and immune dynamics. Their inherent complexity, however, demands meticulous planning and execution to ensure consistency across timepoints, instruments, operators and sites. Other critical factors - including accounting for batch effects, reagent performance, and sample handling and storage - also require tight control to reduce their impact on the integrity of cells or markers of interest. Further, as cytometry technologies continue to evolve, researchers are designing higher dimensional panels, integrating data from multiple instruments and sites, and using sophisticated analytical approaches; while promising, these advancements introduce new challenges for reproducibility. Notably, longitudinal study design is not one-size-fits-all; these must be tailored to the users’ expertise, resources, and the assay’s intended use.
To better address the challenges of executing longitudinal flow cytometry studies, we conducted two community surveys and organized two workshops at CYTO2024 and CYTO2025. Our objective was to gather diverse perspectives from the cytometry community and collaboratively define, in alignment with published guidance, a set of minimum requirements and best practices to support reproducibility in longitudinal studies. We explored critical elements such as assay validation, antibody and reagent lot control, ensuring consistent instrument performance, the necessity of an assay-specific quality control, and considerations for data analysis. In this tutorial, we will present this framework and highlight how adherence can significantly enhance assay reliability and interpretability in longitudinal flow cytometry studies.

WORKSHOP
Megan McCausland, BSc, Scientific Advisor, Flow Cytometry
TITLE: Building a Platform-Agnostic Workflow for Troubleshooting Spectral Data Across Different Laboratory Settings
DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, June 9 – 4:00 – 5:00 pm
LOCATION: Meeting Room 2C

Spectral flow cytometry users across varied laboratory settings rely on informal, setting-specific, or platform-based approaches when troubleshooting issues such as single stained controls mismatch, spectral reference drift, autofluorescence interference, or sample-driven variability, among others. These discrepancies lead to inconsistent decision-making and different data quality outcomes.
There is a critical need for a practical, teachable, platform-agnostic workflow to evaluate spectral flow cytometry data quality and guide users when results do not appear as expected.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Abstract Title: Development of a Deep Learning Pipeline for Analysis of Flow Cytometry Data
Accepted Abstract Details:  Tuesday, June 9, 5:00pm-7:00pm, Hall AB
Poster Number:  P178
Authors: Cathy Chang, Abigail Willemse, Rosie DeFazio, Excel Que, Jason Powers, Todd Rogers

Abstract Title:  Why Automation Remains Elusive in High Parameter Flow Cytometry: A Technical Evaluation of Automated Sample Preparation Platforms
Accepted Abstract Details:  Monday, June 8, 5:00pm-7:00pm, Hall AB
Poster Number:  P237
Authors: Neil Turnbull, Stacey Thomson, Nigel Cumming, Gillian Baird, Cameron Paterson, Loveena Rishi Delori, Maisie Ashcroft

Abstract Title:  Integrating Modern, Automated Platforms for Scalable Flow Cytometry Data Analysis at IQVIA
Accepted Abstract Details:  Monday, June 8, 5:00pm-7:00pm, Hall AB
Poster Number:  P257
Author: Meghana Dhekne

Abstract Title:  Assessment of Serum Free Cryopreservation Reagents for PBMCs Isolated from CPT Tubes: Comparison of CryoStor CS10, CTL Serum Free Media, and PromoCell Cryo SFM
Accepted Abstract Details:  Tuesday, June 9, 5:00pm-7:00pm, Hall AB
Poster Number:  P236
Authors: Valentina Sanghez, Gillian Baird, Stephanie Matyas, Elisabeth Wachter