Adrian Liston
@labliston.bsky.social
Professor of Pathology at the University of Cambridge. Equalities Fellow, Welfare Tutor and Director-of-Studies at St Catharine's College. Educator, scientist, immunologist, daddy. Founder and CSO of Aila Biotech Ltd.
Pinned
Pre-print alert! And this one really is a must read for anyone that does spectral #flowcytometry. It is a complete, fully-automated spectral unmixing pipeline that reduces error up to 9000-fold.
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Adrian Liston
November 8th marks Intersex Day of Remembrance.
Intersex Day of Remembrance is a day to remember those who are no longer with us and highlight issues that the Intersex community face.
We stand in solidarity with our Intersex siblings, team members and supporters!
#IntersexDayOfRemembrance
Intersex Day of Remembrance is a day to remember those who are no longer with us and highlight issues that the Intersex community face.
We stand in solidarity with our Intersex siblings, team members and supporters!
#IntersexDayOfRemembrance
November 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
November 8th marks Intersex Day of Remembrance.
Intersex Day of Remembrance is a day to remember those who are no longer with us and highlight issues that the Intersex community face.
We stand in solidarity with our Intersex siblings, team members and supporters!
#IntersexDayOfRemembrance
Intersex Day of Remembrance is a day to remember those who are no longer with us and highlight issues that the Intersex community face.
We stand in solidarity with our Intersex siblings, team members and supporters!
#IntersexDayOfRemembrance
Reposted by Adrian Liston
I love a good recipe 💚✨️
It is not often that a new flow cytometry protocol makes the newspaper! I also got a kick out of seeing our science tagged as "quirky"!
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fairy-l...
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fairy-l...
Fairy Liquid unveiled as secret ingredient in University of Cambridge scientists’ near-universal magic formula
It helps them with experiments studying the inside of cells.
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
I love a good recipe 💚✨️
It is not often that a new flow cytometry protocol makes the newspaper! I also got a kick out of seeing our science tagged as "quirky"!
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fairy-l...
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fairy-l...
Fairy Liquid unveiled as secret ingredient in University of Cambridge scientists’ near-universal magic formula
It helps them with experiments studying the inside of cells.
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 10:35 AM
It is not often that a new flow cytometry protocol makes the newspaper! I also got a kick out of seeing our science tagged as "quirky"!
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fairy-l...
www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/fairy-l...
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Foreign Scholars Skip US Conferences
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Cautious or Protesting, Foreign Scholars Skip U.S. Conferences
As President Donald Trump deploys National Guard troops to American cities and ICE arrests pick up, some international scholars are opting out of U.S. travel.
www.insidehighered.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Foreign Scholars Skip US Conferences
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Foreign Scholars Skip US Conferences
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Cautious or Protesting, Foreign Scholars Skip U.S. Conferences
As President Donald Trump deploys National Guard troops to American cities and ICE arrests pick up, some international scholars are opting out of U.S. travel.
www.insidehighered.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Foreign Scholars Skip US Conferences
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
“I don’t agree with the politicization of scientific funding, the destruction of data collection and openness... and I feel like traveling to America at this point is a partial endorsement of what’s going on,” Liston said.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Fascinating talk tonight from Malala Yousafzai
November 2, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Fascinating talk tonight from Malala Yousafzai
Reposted by Adrian Liston
🧪
A small 🧵 encouraging people to publish protocols.
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
AutoSpectral improves spectral flow cytometry accuracy through optimised spectral unmixing and autofluorescence-matching at the cellular level
The advent of spectral flow cytometry has seen a rapid rise in the complexity of flow cytometry experiments, allowing the construction of assays with at least 50 fluorescent parameters. To correctly d...
www.biorxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:31 PM
🧪
Reposted by Adrian Liston
As the editor of CSH Protocols, I wholeheartedly agree.
And if you have an idea for a topic to do a protocols collection on, or know of a field that would benefit from such a collection, let's talk!
And if you have an idea for a topic to do a protocols collection on, or know of a field that would benefit from such a collection, let's talk!
With so many new methods buried in results-focused papers, this thread is my encouragement to groups to also publish separate protocols papers! You'll be pleasantly surprised at the engagement these papers get, and most importantly they provide real impact aiding others in their science.
October 31, 2025 at 6:02 PM
As the editor of CSH Protocols, I wholeheartedly agree.
And if you have an idea for a topic to do a protocols collection on, or know of a field that would benefit from such a collection, let's talk!
And if you have an idea for a topic to do a protocols collection on, or know of a field that would benefit from such a collection, let's talk!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Haven't read this one yet, but looks like a fantastic resource for everyone working with complex #spectral #flowcytometry panels!
Pre-print alert! And this one really is a must read for anyone that does spectral #flowcytometry. It is a complete, fully-automated spectral unmixing pipeline that reduces error up to 9000-fold.
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 31, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Haven't read this one yet, but looks like a fantastic resource for everyone working with complex #spectral #flowcytometry panels!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
A small 🧵 encouraging people to publish protocols.
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
AutoSpectral improves spectral flow cytometry accuracy through optimised spectral unmixing and autofluorescence-matching at the cellular level
The advent of spectral flow cytometry has seen a rapid rise in the complexity of flow cytometry experiments, allowing the construction of assays with at least 50 fluorescent parameters. To correctly d...
www.biorxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 9:09 AM
A small 🧵 encouraging people to publish protocols.
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A small 🧵 encouraging people to publish protocols.
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
AutoSpectral improves spectral flow cytometry accuracy through optimised spectral unmixing and autofluorescence-matching at the cellular level
The advent of spectral flow cytometry has seen a rapid rise in the complexity of flow cytometry experiments, allowing the construction of assays with at least 50 fluorescent parameters. To correctly d...
www.biorxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 9:09 AM
A small 🧵 encouraging people to publish protocols.
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our #AutoSpectral release has made me reflect on how much the community tends to appreciate protocol papers. People rarely present protocols as their main achievements, but they are often the most impactful work.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Pre-print alert! And this one really is a must read for anyone that does spectral #flowcytometry. It is a complete, fully-automated spectral unmixing pipeline that reduces error up to 9000-fold.
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Pre-print alert! And this one really is a must read for anyone that does spectral #flowcytometry. It is a complete, fully-automated spectral unmixing pipeline that reduces error up to 9000-fold.
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Today I accidentally discovered the ySG podcast "Climbing the Immunological Ladder".
Highlight: an absolutely incredible episode with Adrian Liston @labliston.bsky.social: "Caring about people and caring about their growth ends up being the most impactful thing you can do in science"
Highlight: an absolutely incredible episode with Adrian Liston @labliston.bsky.social: "Caring about people and caring about their growth ends up being the most impactful thing you can do in science"
Interview with Adrian Liston
open.spotify.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Today I accidentally discovered the ySG podcast "Climbing the Immunological Ladder".
Highlight: an absolutely incredible episode with Adrian Liston @labliston.bsky.social: "Caring about people and caring about their growth ends up being the most impactful thing you can do in science"
Highlight: an absolutely incredible episode with Adrian Liston @labliston.bsky.social: "Caring about people and caring about their growth ends up being the most impactful thing you can do in science"
Reposted by Adrian Liston
The problem is that spectral unmixing is complex. The basis is a linear regression of positive versus negative signals, a highly error-prone process. This issue is largely solved by the use of robust linear regression with iterative rounds of improvement (AutoSpill):
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
AutoSpill is a principled framework that simplifies the analysis of multichromatic flow cytometry data - Nature Communications
Flow cytometry allows the simultaneous quantification of many markers in and on a cell, but the analysis of such data is complicated. Here, the authors propose AutoSpill, a framework that facilitates ...
www.nature.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The problem is that spectral unmixing is complex. The basis is a linear regression of positive versus negative signals, a highly error-prone process. This issue is largely solved by the use of robust linear regression with iterative rounds of improvement (AutoSpill):
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Three addition problems:
1)This unmixing solution still requires ideal positive-negative matching to find the right linear regression.
2) Cells have variation in background fluorescence
3) Fluorophores actually stuck on cells have variation in emissions
#AutoSpectral solves these!
1)This unmixing solution still requires ideal positive-negative matching to find the right linear regression.
2) Cells have variation in background fluorescence
3) Fluorophores actually stuck on cells have variation in emissions
#AutoSpectral solves these!
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Three addition problems:
1)This unmixing solution still requires ideal positive-negative matching to find the right linear regression.
2) Cells have variation in background fluorescence
3) Fluorophores actually stuck on cells have variation in emissions
#AutoSpectral solves these!
1)This unmixing solution still requires ideal positive-negative matching to find the right linear regression.
2) Cells have variation in background fluorescence
3) Fluorophores actually stuck on cells have variation in emissions
#AutoSpectral solves these!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Huge credit to @colibricytometry.bsky.social, who has spent years working on every aspect of the spectral flow cytometry pipeline. Follow the Colibri blog to get tips in real-time, pre-pre-print!
www.colibri-cytometry.com
www.colibri-cytometry.com
Cytometry Colibri | flow cytometry
Cytometry Colibri offers scientific consulting, data analysis, panel design, method development, tutoring and all things related to flow cytometry.
Expertise in high parameter flow cytometry, spectra...
www.colibri-cytometry.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Huge credit to @colibricytometry.bsky.social, who has spent years working on every aspect of the spectral flow cytometry pipeline. Follow the Colibri blog to get tips in real-time, pre-pre-print!
www.colibri-cytometry.com
www.colibri-cytometry.com
Reposted by Adrian Liston
First, pos-neg gating. Ideal controls are your actual antibodies on the actual cells. However different antibodies bind different cells (see: CD4 vs XCR1 below), meaning they have different backgrounds to control. AutoSpectral matches the FSC-SSC of each pos to a suitable neg: with results!
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
First, pos-neg gating. Ideal controls are your actual antibodies on the actual cells. However different antibodies bind different cells (see: CD4 vs XCR1 below), meaning they have different backgrounds to control. AutoSpectral matches the FSC-SSC of each pos to a suitable neg: with results!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
The whole pipeline is available right now on GitHub. It includes comprehensive notes on every step from installation to utilisation.
github.com/DrCytometer/...
Hopefully soon (like with AutoSpill) it becomes standard on commercial platforms too. But don't wait - fix your data issues today!
github.com/DrCytometer/...
Hopefully soon (like with AutoSpill) it becomes standard on commercial platforms too. But don't wait - fix your data issues today!
GitHub - DrCytometer/AutoSpectral: Tools for Unmixing Spectral Flow Cytometry Data
Tools for Unmixing Spectral Flow Cytometry Data. Contribute to DrCytometer/AutoSpectral development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The whole pipeline is available right now on GitHub. It includes comprehensive notes on every step from installation to utilisation.
github.com/DrCytometer/...
Hopefully soon (like with AutoSpill) it becomes standard on commercial platforms too. But don't wait - fix your data issues today!
github.com/DrCytometer/...
Hopefully soon (like with AutoSpill) it becomes standard on commercial platforms too. But don't wait - fix your data issues today!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Not often discussed, but fluorophores also emit differently on different cells. Just as with autofluorescence we can test the different fits on a per cell basis, and use the fit that leaves the least residual. It means more signal is attributed to the correct fluorophore!
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Not often discussed, but fluorophores also emit differently on different cells. Just as with autofluorescence we can test the different fits on a per cell basis, and use the fit that leaves the least residual. It means more signal is attributed to the correct fluorophore!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
The cumulative effect of these improvements (and others not mentioned!) is enormous. For tough samples, like lung, incorrectly assigned signals are reduced by up to 9000-fold, and a 10- to 3000-fold improvement is common. Look at this ground truth experiment, showing wildtype vs GFP lung:
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The cumulative effect of these improvements (and others not mentioned!) is enormous. For tough samples, like lung, incorrectly assigned signals are reduced by up to 9000-fold, and a 10- to 3000-fold improvement is common. Look at this ground truth experiment, showing wildtype vs GFP lung:
Reposted by Adrian Liston
We fix this by identifying all autofluorescence patterns in the unstained sample, then applying each pattern to each individual cell in the real sample. We select the autofluorescence index that leaves the least residual, subtract that signal and unmix the rest. The results are gorgeous!
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
We fix this by identifying all autofluorescence patterns in the unstained sample, then applying each pattern to each individual cell in the real sample. We select the autofluorescence index that leaves the least residual, subtract that signal and unmix the rest. The results are gorgeous!
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Second, autofluorescence variation. An unmixing matrix that doesn't account for autofluorescence will force all signal into one of the flurophore channels, giving misassigned signal. Past approaches only use autofuorescence index, which means heterogenous mixtures have cells with misassigned signal
October 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Second, autofluorescence variation. An unmixing matrix that doesn't account for autofluorescence will force all signal into one of the flurophore channels, giving misassigned signal. Past approaches only use autofuorescence index, which means heterogenous mixtures have cells with misassigned signal
I remember, 20 years ago, cancelling my news subscriptions. The poor quality of journalism and support for the Iraq war was the cause. Science journalism had already died, and why pay to read right-wing propaganda?
Newspapers died *after* they became rubbish. Suicide, not murder.
Newspapers died *after* they became rubbish. Suicide, not murder.
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
October 28, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I remember, 20 years ago, cancelling my news subscriptions. The poor quality of journalism and support for the Iraq war was the cause. Science journalism had already died, and why pay to read right-wing propaganda?
Newspapers died *after* they became rubbish. Suicide, not murder.
Newspapers died *after* they became rubbish. Suicide, not murder.
Reposted by Adrian Liston
Extremely useful for spectral flow cytometry enthusiasts- thanks @labliston.bsky.social I will share with our core too
Pre-print alert! And this one really is a must read for anyone that does spectral #flowcytometry. It is a complete, fully-automated spectral unmixing pipeline that reduces error up to 9000-fold.
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to get a tough sample, like lung, looking like this? Read more!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 28, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Extremely useful for spectral flow cytometry enthusiasts- thanks @labliston.bsky.social I will share with our core too