Janos Szöllösi - Candidate for Cytometric Technology Councilor

Statement of Goals and Objectives

The first occasion when I was really enchanted by the great potentials of flow cytometry was at the ISAC meeting in Schloss Elmau in 1982. Since then I have been amazed by the continuous development in the field of flow and image cytometry. I have served on the editorial board of Cytometry since 1993, and I was appointed European Editor of Cytometry in 2002. My relevant experience as an active ISAC contributor includes: membership of various committees such as Conference Evaluation Committee (1991-1998); Scientific Advisory Board (1994-1996; 2002-); Council of Associated Societies (1995- ); Fund Raising Committee (2001-2002). Furthermore, I am the founder and current chairman of the Cell Analysis Section of the Hungarian Biophysical Society. I have organized four cytometry meetings in Eastern Europe on both clinical and basic research topics; one of these was an ISAC supported international meeting (1999: Future Trends in Quantitative Cytometry at Hortobagy-EPONA, Hungary). These activities gave me the experience, skills, and insights that I would like to bring to the ISAC council in 2004. As a European with half a decade of North American experience I hope I can enhance the international impact of ISAC, orchestrate successful meetings, and ultimately, build an even more successful and efficient society.

Several key initiatives should be undertaken to attract young scientists to ISAC, these include:

1. To expand the membership of the society; ISAC’s recruitment activities should go beyond the traditional approaches. ISAC could benefit from embracing young talented academics and entrepreneurs from the rest of the Americas, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. Organizing small, thematically focused meetings at strategically located places and times would contribute to the recruitment of new members.
2. To improve the impact of the CYTOMETRY Journal through extending the educational and mentorship role of ISAC. My vision includes transferring skills to young scientists about data collection and interpretation in the field of flow and image cytometry in order to improve the overall quality of scientific papers submitted by junior scientists. In addition, significant efforts will be made in order to recruit good quality review papers for CYTOMETRY.
3. To serve the current membership through quality organization of bi-annual ISAC meetings, to enhance communication among flow and image cytometry oriented members in order to broaden the profile and expand the role of ISAC;
   

I support the goals and objectives of this coalition.

Janos Szöllösi