Alexander (Alex) Nakeff

Alexander Nakeff is Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He received his B.Sc. in Science and M.Sc. in Physiology at the University of Toronto and Ph.D. in Radiation Biology and Biophysics (1970) at the University of Rochester, NY. His post-doctoral studies were performed under Dr. van Bekkum at the Radiobiological Institute, TNO, The Netherlands. He joined the Section of Cancer Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, in 1972 as Director of the Core Flow Cytometry Facility, attaining the rank of Associate Professor in 1982. He then joined the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan as Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Flow and Image Cytometry Core Facility of the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Detroit (now the Karmanos Comprehensive Cancer Center) in 1986. In 1999, he joined the Drug Discovery and Development Program at the Josephine Ford Cancer Center, HFHS.

His main research interests have been in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and differentiation, with emphasis on megakaryocyte and platelet production and publication of the first paper applying flow cytometry to megakaryocytes in 1979. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed full publications and book chapters, including 3 publications and a review in Cytometry. His present research interests are in cytomics (flow cytometry and proteomics) to determine the molecular mechanism of action of new solid tumor-selective drugs at the proteome level.

He was elected ISAC Clinical Councilor in 2004 and is Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee for ISAC XXIII (2006), with special responsibility for the Congress budget. As a member of the ISAC Strategic Initiatives Task Force (2005), he is responsible for ISAC Organization, as well as serving as Chair of the Society Management Review Task Force. He has played key roles in organizing several ISAC Congresses (XIX & XX), served as Chair of both the ISAC Membership Services Committee (the latter responsible for formalizing the present ISAC Student Awards) and the ISAC Site Selection Committee. He founded and organized the "Under '40's Club” at the last four ISAC Congresses to help attract new, younger members to ISAC and organized and chaired the 3rd Samuel A. Latt meeting in Detroit in 2001 on “Genomics/Proteomics in Cancer” that has contributed to the present ISAC Strategic Initiatives effort. He has served on several NIH Special Review committees for flow cytometry, co-founded the Great Lakes International Image and Flow Cytometry Association (GLIIFCA) in 1991 (the best regional group of its kind in the US that is presently in its 15th consecutive year and focused on maximizing the participation of its young members). He has served as Treasurer of GLIIFCA for the past 3 years (responsible for an expanding positive treasury), as well as coordinator of its Exhibits portfolio, annual meeting organization and Chair of its Site Selection Committee.

Candidate Statement

It is important that several key initiatives be undertaken to ensure ISAC"s financial future and attainment of its strategic goals; these include:

• a new ISAC Congress organization paradigm that maintains high scientific quality while reducing registration fees for members, providing a financial incentive to attract younger members and providing a source of income to the Society treasury through implementation of positive models (1st and 3rd Samuel A. Latt meetings and GLIIFCA);
• exploring new management models to increase the international impact of ISAC mission and vision values while instituting significant cost savings through competitive bidding;
• implementing the new ISAC Strategic Initiatives with a judicious mix of short-term spending and long-term cost savings;
• building stronger alliances with our corporate sponsors to provide significant new Congress income to support younger membership through implementation of successful models, such as that used, on an albeit smaller scale, in GLIIFCA;
• striving to increase our membership and thus increase membership income into the Society through outreach to other societies (e.g. AACR, EBMT, ASH, ISEH, ISCT) that utilize flow and image cytometry by making plenary session presentations at their annual meetings to attract their interested membership to join ISAC;
• better recognizing cytometry facility core directors (in which I have spent most of my career) as a vital group of our membership and make more resources available to them;
• building more bridges to the international clinical cytometry community, including combined meetings.

From the perspective gained by serving on ISAC Council, I have come to appreciate the fragile nature, yet great strength, of the international base of ISAC and will commit to work enthusiastically and tirelessly to expand and strengthen our unique ties. I am honored to have been nominated for the position of Treasurer and will be pleased to serve you.