Continuing evolution of the technology of mass cytometry, that employs atomic mass spectrometry (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, ICP-MS) to address the challenges of multi-parameter flow cytometry.  Stable isotopes are used as tags instead of fluorophores.  The resolution of ICP-MS allows many probes to be determined simultaneously, allowing massively multi-parameter and quantitative assay of cell surface and intracellular proteins in single cells at high throughput.

Scott D. Tanner is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of DVS Sciences, Inc., a biotech company that develops, manufactures and markets analytical instruments and reagents for high throughput, massively multi-parameter single cell analysis.  He is also a Professor (status only) in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Following receipt of a PhD in physical chemistry from York University (Toronto), he joined Sciex Inc., subsequently MDS Sciex, in 1980 on a Research Fellowship, and stayed for 25 years, eventually becoming Principal Scientist.  He led the development of atomic mass spectrometry instruments that captured nearly 50% of the world market and were sold through the PerkinElmer-Sciex Joint Venture.

Scott and his research team left Sciex in 2005 for the University of Toronto to take on a new challenge of applying mass spectrometry as a detector for flow cytometry.  DVS Sciences Inc. was established to bring that instrumentation and reagent stream to the market. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale California and has R&D and production facilities in Toronto.  There are presently multiple CyTOF® Mass Cytometer customers in each of NA, Asia and Europe.

Scott received the University of Toronto 2011 Inventor of the Year Award in Biomedical and Life Sciences, the 2011 ThermoFisher Scientific Spectroscopy Award, the 2003 W.A.E. McBryde Medal, and the 2001 Manning Innovation Foundation Award of Distinction. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).