We regret to inform the membership of the International Society of Laboratory Hematology (ISLH) and the readership of the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology (IJLH) that our colleague Bruce H. Davis, MD, passed away in December 2024. As president (J.L.F.) and past president (T.I.G.) of IJLH, we have the great honor of reflecting on the scientific legacy of Dr. Davis. Dr. Davis's professional engagement extended beyond the boundaries of ISLH and included active participation in our peer organizations, the International Clinical Cytometry Society (ICCS) and the International Council of Standards in Hematology (ICSH). Because we anticipate that the ICCS and ICSH will also share their own messages regarding Dr. Davis, we have decided to confine our remarks to the important contributions of Dr. Davis to the scientific endeavors of ISLH and IJLH.
Bruce H. Davis earned his bachelor's degree at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York, USA) and was a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, where he received his medical degree. He then completed a residency in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of Colorado and the University of California, Irvine, respectively. His academic career proceeded with appointments at institutions such as the State University of New York at Syracuse (Syracuse, New York, USA), Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire, USA), and William Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, Michigan, USA), where he developed his expertise in diagnostic flow cytometry and developed a National Institutes of Health‐funded research program.
Dr. Davis was a prolific author, with > 100 publications to his credit, and was a member of numerous pathology and clinical laboratory organizations. We would like to highlight some of his many accomplishments that would be particularly important to the membership of ISLH and the readers of IJLH. He was a founding member of ISLH (1992) and served as a board member and as the organization's treasurer. He was a constant presence at ISLH's annual congresses for many years and shared his expertise as a speaker and session chair. Along with Kandice Kottke Marchant, MD, PhD, he coedited the first edition of the very successful ISLH‐sponsored textbook Laboratory Hematology Practice [1], which provided a comprehensive approach to hematology from a laboratory perspective. In view of his many valuable contributions to ISLH, he was given the prestigious Berend Houwen Award in 2008.
Dr. Davis's involvement in the scholarly mission of ISLH extended to its sponsored journals, Laboratory Hematology and IJLH. Papers published by Dr. Davis in these two journals from 2001 to the present are summarized in Table 1, along with the number of citations (date of query, February 28, 2026) for each article per the Scopus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) database. The 14 papers identified by the search were published between 2001 and 2026 and included 7 papers published in Laboratory Hematology and 7 in IJLH. The publications were classified as papers (n = 12), a review (n = 1), and an editorial (n = 1). His work in these journals was highly cited, with an average of 34 citations per article (range 0–166). The topics of the publications reflect Dr. Davis's wide‐ranging interests in the field of laboratory hematology, including the description of a standard for hemoglobin measurements that could be used for standardization of this analyte by instrumentation manufacturers [2], quantitation of hemoglobin F by flow cytometry [3], and reticulocyte counting [4, 5]. The 2014 reticulocyte study was his most cited paper to date [4]. A final study, published posthumously [6], is an innovative paper on white blood cell differential counting by flow cytometry.
TABLE 1.
Publications by Bruce H. Davis in Laboratory Hematology and the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology, with corresponding number of citations as of February 28, 2026 for each article per the Scopus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) database.
| Authors | Title | Journal | Year | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterson P, Blomberg DJ, Rabinovitch A et al. | Physician review of the peripheral blood smear: When and Why An opinion | Laboratory Hematology | 2001 | 25 |
| Davis BH, Bigelow NC | Performance evaluation of the ABX Micros CRP: The first instrument reporting a complete blood count, 3‐part leukocyte differential, and C‐reactive protein quantitation | Laboratory Hematology | 2001 | 3 |
| Tatsumi N, van Assendelft OW, Naka K et al. | International Council for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) recommendations for single‐use evacuated containers for blood specimen collection for hematological analyses | Laboratory Hematology | 2002 | 6 |
| Briggs C, Kunka S, Fujimoto H et al. | Evaluation of immature granulocyte counts by the XE‐IG Master: Upgraded software for the XE‐2100 automated hematology analyzer | Laboratory Hematology | 2003 | 48 |
| Bull BS, Fujimoto K, Houwen B et al. | International Council for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) recommendations for “Surrogate Reference” method for the packed cell volume | Laboratory Hematology | 2003 | 39 |
| Zarev PV, Davis BH | Comparative study of monocyte enumeration by flow cytometry: Improved detection by combining monocyte‐related antibodies with anti‐CD163 | Laboratory Hematology | 2004 | 9 |
| Davis BH, Bigelow NC | Comparison of neutrophil CD64 expression, manual myeloid immaturity counts, and automated hematology analyzer flags as indicators of infection or sepsis | Laboratory Hematology | 2005 | 52 |
| McFadden S, Briggs C, Davis BH et al. | The reformed International Council for Standardization in Hematology (ICSH) | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2008 | 9 |
| Davis BH, Jungerius B | International council for standardization in haematology technical report 1–2009: New reference material for haemiglobincyanide for use in standardization of blood haemoglobin measurements | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2010 | 48 |
| Stephens AD, Angastiniotis M, Baysal E et al. | ICSH recommendations for the measurement of Haemoglobin F | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2012 | 51 |
| Wong L, Hunsberger BC, Bagwell C et al. | Automated quantitation of fetomaternal hemorrhage by flow cytometry for HbF‐containing fetal red blood cells using probability state modeling | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2013 | 16 |
| Briggs C, Culp N, Davis BH et al. | ICSH guidelines for the evaluation of blood cell analysers including those used for differential leucocyte and reticulocyte counting | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2014 | 166 |
| Obstfeld, AE, Davis BH, Han, J‐Y et al. | Report of the International Council for Standardization in Haematology working group for standardization of reticulocyte parameters | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2024 | 4 |
| Hedley, BD, Keeney, M, Gambell, P et al. | White blood cell enumeration and differential by flow cytometry: The ICSH WBC reference method | International Journal of Laboratory Hematology | 2026 | 0 |
Of course, the scientific career of Dr. Davis is not a complete depiction of the man. Bruce had a fiery personality and was not shy about promoting advances in laboratory hematology, including a better flow cytometry method for hemoglobin F [3], as well as his disdain for the Kleihauer Betke method. He challenged his colleagues to be better physicians and to offer diagnostic testing that improved healthcare for patients. He stretched beyond academic medicine into industry as a founder and CEO at Trillium Diagnostics LLC (Bangor, Maine, USA), a company formed to deliver innovative diagnostic solutions to improve health and well‐being worldwide. Bruce was also an avid fisherman and adventurer, traveling with his partner Naomi Culp, also an experienced laboratory hematology professional, around the world to international conferences and to visit friends and colleagues. In sum, Bruce H. Davis was a pioneering visionary in the field of laboratory hematology, with a passion for the field that was obvious to all who knew him, and whose presence is sincerely missed.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
- 1. Kottke‐Marchant K. and Davis B. H., Laboratory Hematology Practice (Blackwell Publishing, 2012). [Google Scholar]
- 2. Davis B. H. and Jungerius B., “International Council for the Standardization of H. International Council for Standardization in Haematology Technical Report 1‐2009: New Reference Material for Haemiglobincyanide for Use in Standardization of Blood Haemoglobin Measurements,” International Journal of Laboratory Hematology 32, no. 2 (2010): 139–141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3. Stephens A. D., Angastiniotis M., Baysal E., et al., “ICSH Recommendations for the Measurement of Haemoglobin F,” International Journal of Laboratory Hematology 34, no. 1 (2012): 14–20. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4. International Council for Standardization in Haematology WG , Briggs C., Culp N., et al., “ICSH Guidelines for the Evaluation of Blood Cell Analysers Including Those Used for Differential Leucocyte and Reticulocyte Counting,” International Journal of Laboratory Hematology 36, no. 6 (2014): 613–627. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5. Obstfeld A. E., Davis B. H., Han J. Y., and Urrechaga E., “Report of the International Council for Standardization in Haematology Working Group for Standardization of Reticulocyte Parameters,” International Journal of Laboratory Hematology 46, no. 2 (2024): 266–274. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6. Hedley B. D., Keeney M., Gambell P., et al., “White Blood Cell Enumeration and Differential by Flow Cytometry: The ICSH WBC Reference Method,” International Journal of Laboratory Hematology 48, no. 1 (2026): 93–101. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.