Introduction and welcome

It was my greatest pleasure to present the 1st Annual meeting of the newly formed
Scottish Society of Cytomics (SSC) in Aberdeen, UK as host and SSC chair. The aim
of establishing a new technological science group in Scotland is to bring scientists
in the field of cytomics from cross technology centres together. Why Cytomics? Actually,
the theme of our first SSC meeting already provides the answer – Translational Cytometry
from Bench to Bedside- relates to the future of this society and it reflects our shared
passion for cellular systems. Cytometry is growing as a diagnostic and monitoring
technology in biological research and in the clinical laboratory and therefore it
is useful to establish a forum to exchange information, to present research data and
to explore new applications of the rapidly expanding technologies of imaging and flow
cytometry. To better understand and further explore the cellular systems, the merging
and bundling of technologies is necessary. Single technology can’t provide the ultimate
solution. Therefore, CYTOMICS, which analyzes the functional relationship between
cell systems and networks using the “omics” technologies (e.g., Genomics, Proteomics),
will give a comprehensive view of a disease. The analysis of already existing data
from scientific studies or routine diagnostic procedures makes cytomics a valuable
tool for studying diseases, that will be of immediate value in translational medicine.

The Scottish Society of Cytomics was formed with the intention of providing information
related to the art of cytometry (flow and imaging) including its cross technology
applications to genomics, proteomics, in vivo imaging and other core related areas between the research organisations in Scotland
and Northern England. We believe that SSC will be the ideal forum for users of cytometry
and omics systems to get together, share expertise and innovation, discuss pitfalls,
successes and ideas for the future of translational cytomics. It was a great privilege
for me to announce the exciting line up of talks, workshop and exhibitions. SSC 2014
brought together top scientists from various disciplines, and international renowned
keynote speakers. Further to the oral presentations we were happy with the quality
of abstracts submitted by motivated scientists. This poster presentation resulted
in poster awards to recognize the excellent research. I would like to take the opportunity
to acknowledge the support and generosity of the SSC 2014 sponsors in making this
meeting a success. Our special thank goes to Becton Dickinson, Sony, BioStatus and
Miltenyi Biotec for their extra donations and contributions. In conclusion this conference
brought the rich and rewarding experiences for all of us in science (150 attendees),
and helped to develop friendships. We hope that our Society will be a platform for
future success in cytomics research and invite you to participate in these activities.
Welcome to our newly formed Scottish Society of Cytomics that hopes to foster a strong
network for this scientific community.