2023 Ron Brown Excellence in Innovation Award

The team is recognized for reimagining cell cytometry via the creation of the serial cytometer. Flow cytometry is ubiquitous in medical diagnostics, therapy selection, and basic research, from routine complete blood counts to the detection of diseased cells. The team’s innovative technology provided the first-ever quantification of intrinsic errors in cell counting and characterization, which supports safer, more effective clinical decisions. The foundational idea—serial measurements—quantitatively and qualitatively altered traditional flow cytometry. It enabled a 10,000-fold improvement in detecting rare circulating tumor cells. It also enabled—also for the first time—the real-time kinetic analysis necessary for evaluating metabolic response and personalized pharmaceutical interventions.