Inventor of Beckman Coulter Life Sciences’ CytoFLEX Flow Cytometer Honored for his Engineering Innovation

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has elected Dr. Yong Chen, the Chief Technology Officer of Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, a Danaher company, to its College of Fellows. This is in recognition of his work in the field of medical and engineering innovation and discovery.

This honor follows in the footsteps of the founding fathers of the company, Dr. Arnold Beckman and Wallace Coulter, both previous fellows of this prestigious organization.

“In honoring Dr. Chen, the AIMBE recognizes the impact the CytoFLEX flow cytometer’s outstanding technology has had on the life sciences research space,” explained Mario Koksch, Vice President and General Manager of the Flow Cytometry Business Unit, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences.

“With its use of disruptive technologies, the CytoFLEX sets new standards of fluorescence sensitivity, enabling scientists to expand into new research areas using side scatter off the violet laser for enhanced nanoparticle detection.”

In 2012, Dr. Chen founded Xitogen Technologies Inc., a China-based startup to develop a revolutionary life science instrument. Xitogen was acquired by Danaher two years later; and Dr. Chen has spearheaded the production of the first new instrument to be launched since the acquisition, the Beckman Coulter CytoFLEX Flow Cytometer.

“I am honored to be recognized by the AIMBE and to join such an illustrious group of fellows,” Dr. Chen explained. “The considerable research facilities offered by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, not just in the field of flow cytometry, creates a stimulating and innovative environment in which to explore the frontier of medical and biological engineering.”

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a non-profit organization, with 50,000 members. It represents the top 2% of medical and biological engineering professionals. Dr. Chen was inducted into the College of Fellows at AIMBE’s 25th Annual Event, held earlier this month at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. The theme of this year’s event was ‘look back at 25 years of Innovation and to look forward to the next 25 years of progress’.

Mr. Milan Yager, the AIMBE Executive Director, said: “AIMBE serves as the leading voice and advocate for the benefit of medical and biological engineering to the public. Dr. Chen’s election is in recognition of his distinguished career and presents the opportunity to further broaden the impact of his achievements on life science engineering.”

Dr. Yong Chen

Dr. Chen was raised in China and received his PhD in Physical Chemistry from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His PhD work was recognized by the American Chemical Society as the best thesis of the year with the distinguished Nobel Laureate Signature Award in 1990. He started his career as an assistant professor in the College of Chemistry at University of California Berkeley, with a joint appointment as a senior faculty scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

While Yong was at Berkeley, he built the first Femtochemistry lab in the University of California System and was an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and winner of the Henry Dreyfus Young Investigator award and NSF Presidential Young Investigator award. He later joined the renowned Bell Laboratories. Dr. Chen has more than 20 issued and pending US and international patents.