Sphere Fluidics: Dr Alex Dickinson

Dr Alex Dickinson

Cambridge-based Sphere Fluidics, a provider of microfluidics-based solutions for single-cell analysis and isolation, has appointed Dr Alex Dickinson as a non-executive director.

Dickinson has experience of the intersection of healthcare, life sciences and information technology. From 2010 to 2017, he was senior vice-president of strategic initiatives at biotechnology company Illumina, which he joined through the acquisition of low-cost molecular diagnostic products developer Helixis, which he co-founded and led as chief executive. He was also the founder and chief executive of Luxtera, a supercomputer chip company acquired by Cisco Systems in 2019.

Dickinson a board member of Gencove, pioneers of low-pass whole genome sequencing imputation and analysis, co-founder and board member of ChromaCode, a genomics multiplexing technology company, and co-founder and chairman of Ryght.ai, healthcare technology developers leveraging generative AI and optimising large language models (LLMs) to maximise productivity in biopharma discovery and clinical trials. He was previously a board member at clinical research organization PRA Health Sciences until its acquisition by Icon in 2021.

Sphere Fluidics’s chief executive Dale Levitzke said: “It is exciting to be working with Alex again. His calibre within the industry and extensive connections are exceptional, not only bringing deep insights on life science tools in the growing cell and gene therapy space, but also how we can leverage new advances in AI to enhance our offerings. Alex’s proven success in steering companies with cutting-edge technology platforms will be invaluable to the company’s continued growth, particularly as we focus on expansion in the US.”

Dickinson commented: “What really excites me about joining Sphere Fluidics is the talent across the team and the capabilities of its microfluidic technology, with many cutting-edge developments already in the pipeline. Having worked closely with Dale at Illumina and Helixis, I am looking forward to joining him again to drive success at this pivotal stage in the company’s development.

“There is a wealth of opportunities being created around the combination of life science technologies and emerging AI and machine-learning tools, such as LLMs. As one aspect of my new role, I am keen to explore how we can leverage these pioneering techniques alongside the platforms’ proven capabilities in data generation and analysis, opening new avenues for innovation and product development that are transformative for customers’ workflows.”

Join our mailing list

Stay up to date with all our events, awards and publications.

Information you provide us with will be kept private at all times, and will be used for communication and research purpose only.