Thanks for saying so elequently what so many of us feel. Janet Dow At 2:39 PM -0500 12/17/01, Fred Menendez wrote: > We in the Flow Cytometry community owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. >Robinson and his staff for maintaining this web page as an invaluable tool >to the practice of both clinical and research flow cytometry. Its value >cannot be over stated and should be considered precious. My own >initiation into this arcane field will serve as an example of what I mean. > > I came into the field in 1989. As a med tech whose primary experience >was in hematology, the jump from Coulter counters (a type of flow >cytometer) to an Ortho Spectrum 3 was going to be comparatively easy, or >so I thought. The problem was that at my place of employ there was >virtually no one who knew much about flow theory, much less the >particulars of this behemoth of an instrument. Add to this the complexity >of immunology and the CD nomenclature , I have to say with all honesty >that I was fairly lost in my first few years in flow. But I asked >questions where I could, did a lot of reading (thanks Howard, your book >was also invaluable), and stuck to it. Eventually, I began getting more >proficient in flow. My learning curve continued to grow when a new lab >director, who had the vision and funds, got me a new FACScan. This was >about 1992. At about the same time, as I made more connections in the >field (sale reps, service reps, training in Manchester), I heard about the >Purdue web site. It was a god send. From that day forward, I have used >the web site as a source of information and insight. I've learned a great >deal just subscribing to and browsing the email list. > > Since then I have been fortunate enough to have attended several flow >meetings. The most memorable one continues to be the 96' Charleston >meeting. As I attended these meetings and expanded my connections in the >field (I was a founding member of NIAID's Flow Operators Users Group), one >thing became very clear to me: the folks in the flow community are like no >others in the greater scientific community. Above all else, flow >cytometrists are approachable! They are also knowledgeable and willing to >share that knowledge with others, especially new comers to the field. >Being "only" a med tech, I cannot tell you how important that openness, >uniqueness, and approachability has been to my growth in and, yes, my love >of the field. And the Purdue web site has been right at the center of >keeping this an open and approachable community. > > Where else can one ask a question and reasonably expect to get an answer >>from someone who very well might be one of the very top people in their >field----- world wide? (In this way, this web site can be thought of as a >PUBLIC Rolodex.) What other community has a resident songwriter who waxes >poetic (all right, maybe poetic is too strong a word!) about technology. >And although I agree with Waxy when he says " the forum is not the place >to get a basic training in flow," its important to temper this judgement >with understanding and patience. Nothing would turn off new comers to the >field more quickly than if this became an elitist forum, only maintained >for and used by the initiated. Right now we are looking for 2 qualified >cytometrists to work in our labs, one with sort experience. I can assure >you, there aren't many out there. We need to do all we can to keep people >interested in and looking to flow cytometry as a great field to work in; >not as a field filled with people who breath rarified air! > > Finally, what prompted this "outburst of sentimentality and hyperbole" >was the thread about Paul's "harshness." I for one did not interpret his >words as particularly harsh but rather as a tad misguided and certainly >impromptu. I laude him and his staff for seeing that his statement might >have been perceived as harsh and for quickly owning up to that >perception. Its a prime example of what I have tried to convey about the >uniqueness and approachability of the flow cytometry community. > > Thanks Paul to you and your staff for all your hard work keeping this >forum alive. In an often uncivilized and truly harsh world, we have here >a small corner of the world where people continue to show that we can all >work together. > > And, so, to those who celebrate the tradition MERRY CHRISTMAS! And to >all of you HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2002 bring Peace on Earth. More forums >like ours would go a long way toward this long held goal (dream?) for all >human kind. > > Fred Menendez > Johns Hopkins University > Bloomberg School of Public Health > Flow Cytometry Core Laboratory > Baltimore, Maryland > > > Janet Dow Research Technician and Manager Flow Cytometry Facility North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine Room C-314 Raleigh, NC 27606 (919)513-6364
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