Dr. Bartek Rajwa of Purdue University Named Editor-in-Chief of “Cytometry Part A” Journal by the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry

The International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bartek Rajwa as the new Editor-in-Chief of “Cytometry Part A – the Journal of Quantitative Cell Science.” A respected researcher and faculty member at Purdue University, Dr. Rajwa brings to this role considerable experience and expertise in biological data science, multiomics, and single-cell analysis.

“We congratulate Prof. Bartek Rajwa on his appointment as Editor-in-Chief of Cytometry Part A,” said Karen Plaut, Purdue’s executive vice president for research. “Peer-reviewed scientific journals are essential for the advancement of knowledge by allowing for critical evaluation of research. As a leading research university, Purdue contributes to society’s collective knowledge in many ways including support of our leading faculty members engaged in editorial work.  Dr. Rajwa’s expertise is very well suited for this role, and we applaud his appointment.”

Educated at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, Dr. Rajwa has been associated with Purdue University since 2002. Beginning his career as a research scientist, he has ascended to the position of Research Professor of Computational Life Sciences and Bioinformatics at the Bindley Bioscience Center. His expertise spans across biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, and multi-omics data analysis, effectively bridging the gap between cutting-edge life sciences measurement technologies – such as proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, lipidomics, biological imaging, and cytometry – and biological data integration.

Dr. Rajwa's research is particularly notable for its application of mathematical models and machine learning in unraveling complex phenotypic patterns through quantitative single-cell analysis. His work contributes to clinical cytometry, particularly in fields like hematology, immunology, and oncology. It also finds application in high-content screening, drug discovery, toxicology, and neuroscience. In addition, Dr. Rajwa's research extends to agriculture, aiding in areas such as food fraud detection, biosecurity, and biosurveillance.

Dr. Rajwa has been a pivotal figure in the development of several groundbreaking technologies, notably as a co-inventor of spectral flow cytometry, which has been licensed by Sony and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and various automated flow cytometry analysis approaches used in pharmaceutical compound screening. Additionally, he has worked on innovative algorithms for identifying food-borne pathogens and has been involved in enhancing spectral information processing methods used in fluorescence and Raman cytometry and imaging.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Jessica P. Houston, ISAC President expressed her excitement, stating, “I am thrilled that Dr. Rajwa will take on the role of Editor-In-Chief for ISAC. I believe that under his direction Cytometry Part A will continue to lead the field and contribute to the advancement of cytometry I look forward to collaborating with him as our new Editor-in-Chief and supporting him through his efforts and plans for the journal.”

Dr. Rajwa also added, “I also want to take this opportunity to emphasize the role of scientific societies such as ISAC in scientific publishing. In today's turbulent scientific publishing landscape, the ownership of journals by scientific societies is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, the rise in open-access publishing, while beneficial for knowledge dissemination, often comes with very high costs. Additionally, the proliferation of predatory publishers has led to a surge in publications with questionable peer-review processes, compromising scientific integrity. We've witnessed an increase in retractions due to flawed or fraudulent research. Scientific societies rooted in the academic community are better positioned to uphold rigorous review standards and ensure the publication of high-quality, trustworthy research.”

Dr. Rajwa's appointment as Editor-In-Chief aligns with ISAC's commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration within the field of cytometry and will herald a new era of excellence for Cytometry Part A, furthering the Society's mission in the realm of quantitative cell science.