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Sumona Sarkar Receives 2026 ANSI Next Generation Award
Sumona Sarkar received the 2026 ANSI Next Generation Award in recognition of her leadership and contributions to standards development for biotechnology in ISO TC 276.
The ANSI Next Generation Award is presented to professionals who have been engaged in standardization or conformity assessment activities for fewer than eight years and who have demonstrated vision, leadership, and dedication, and made significant contributions to their chosen field.
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Dr. Sumona Sarkar, a biomedical engineer in the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory Biosystems and Biomaterials Division, was recently awarded the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Next Generation Award which was celebrated at the ANSI Awards Banquet and Ceremony in Denver, Colorado on July 29, 2026. The Next Generation Award honors individuals who have been engaged in voluntary consensus standardization or conformity assessment activities for fewer than eight years who have demonstrated vision, leadership, and dedication, and made significant contributions to their chosen field.
Dr. Sarkar was recognized for her work in biotechnology standards development. She serves as convener for the Cell Characterization Working Group (WG 2) in the Analytical Methods Subcommittee (SC) of ISO Technical Committee (TC) 276, Biotechnology. She has led the development of several international standards for biotechnology, including ISO 20391-1 and ISO 2039102 on cell counting, ISO 23033 on the testing and characterization of cellular therapeutic products, and the ISO 8934 series on cell viability, which is under development. She has also co-convened an ad hoc working group on organoids that led to the formation of a new working group within ISO TC 276. Beyond standards development, Dr. Sarkar is an instructor and co-developer of workforce training courses that support standards implementation, and over the past five years she has delivered more than 30 invited talks on standards-related topics.