The Story Behind our Sample Prep Automation Innovations

Aerial view of Stanford University campus with the Stanford Tower and red-tiled roofs surrounded by trees under a clear blue sky.

Our mission is to democratize spatial biology discovery and biomarker capabilities through advanced technologies that increase accessibility, efficiency, and data quality of analytical techniques.

Parhelia Bio emerged from a shared vision at Stanford University.

Portraits of the three founders: Nikolay Samusik, Yury Goltsev, and Garry Nolan.

As pioneers in the Spatial Biology field since its inception, we are uniquely positioned to lower the bar for anyone inspired to adopt these technologies in their research.

Co-founders Nikolay Samusik and Yury Goltsev were postdocs in the lab of Professor Garry Nolan at Stanford, where they co-developed the CODEX ultra-multiplexed spatial biology technology. They co-founded Akoya Biosciences (NASDAQ: AKYA) to commercialize CODEX (now PhenoCycler) and later acquired Opal (from Perkin Elmer) to offer critical technologies in spatial biology.

As front-line scientists pushing the boundaries of Spatial Biology, Nikolay, Yury, and Garry recognized the limitations of manual processing in preparing and staining samples for imaging analysis. Together, they founded Parhelia Biosciences to tackle these challenges head-on and enable researchers and clinicians to translate spatial biology discoveries into meaningful, biomarker-based outcome benefits for patients through reliable, consistent, and affordable automated solutions.

Purpose-Built Automation for the Spatial Biology Community

The speed and breadth of spatial biology's innovation have only increased the need for universal and high-throughput solutions to pre-imaging sample preparation.

We’re engineering consistent, reagent-saving, hands-free automated solutions to sample prep and staining bottlenecks so you can image

‍
From basic stains to advanced protocols like PhenoCycler, GeoMx and Xenium, we simplify lab workflow and make tissue auto-staining accessible to all researchers on a budget.
Join us in advancing spatial biology with cutting-edge technology tailored to your needs.more with less.

Four circular images representing FFPE Dewax+HIER, Multiplexed Proteomics, Spatial Transcriptomics, and H&E, showing colorful cellular structures and tissue staining.

The Team behind the scenes

Nikolay Samusik

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO

Woman with shoulder-length dark hair wearing a white jacket with a mountain and greenery background.

Katherine Billet

Executive admin lead

Man with glasses, long dark hair tied back, and a goatee smiling slightly against a blurred outdoor background.

Nels Wedin

Sr. Field Applications Engineer

Smiling man with short hair and ginger beard wearing a light blue checkered shirt with a buttoned collar outdoors.

Kevin Euell

Research Operations Associate

Smiling man with short gray hair wearing a dark scarf and jacket against a blue sky background.

Mike Stadnisky

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Portrait of a smiling young man with short brown hair wearing a checkered shirt against a plain background.

Michael Craft

field applications scientist

Smiling woman with long blonde hair wearing a lavender top and gold necklaces, standing outdoors with greenery in the background.

Mary Chandler Grisillo

Sr. account manager

Close-up of a smiling middle-aged man wearing glasses and a light-colored collared shirt against a white background.

Yury Goltsev

CO-FOUNDER

Prof. Garry Nolan

CO-FOUNDER

The timeline of Parhelia

2021

A small set of PAR2 instruments were distributed to Early Adopter labs for assay development and verification. Additional staining methods and automation protocols were developed for Parhelia devices (H&E, IHC, multiplexed IF, Opal, RNAscope FISH).

2022

Based on the Early Adopter feedback, the Omni-Stainer™ was designed and released. Parhelia enters an official partnership with Opentrons for a complete low-cost auto-staining solution.

2023

Based on the Early Adopter feedback, the Omni-Stainer™ was designed and released. Parhelia enters an official partnership with Opentrons for a complete low-cost auto-staining solution.

2024 - May

Parhelia Biosciences Announces the Launch of the Parhelia Spatial Station™ – A Revolutionary Sample Prep System for Spatial Biology

2024 - June

Testimonials

“...auto staining enables testing more conditions and finding the optimal one.”

Staff Scientist
nih

• Dr. Noemi Kedei

"With the Parhelia Omni-Stainer I've been able to increase the number of coverslips or slides I can do CODEX staining at the same time and, on top of that, I've been able to save reagents and antibody while preserving staining quality. Using their product was a great investment for our project."

senior scientist
Washington University in st. louis

• Dr. Ruan Medrano

Partners

Microscopic image of tissue stained with vibrant colors including red, blue, yellow, and purple highlighting cellular structures.

Hamilton

Parhelia Bio is pleased to be partnering with Hamilton to bring the next generation of sample automation for spatial biology and flow cytometry with the Parhelia Spatial Station™.

Opentrons

Parhelia Bio is pleased to be partnering with Opentrons to offer competitive pricing on a complete tissue auto-staining solution. Omni-Stainer™ is compatible with most liquid handling robots, but if you don’t have one, we recommend our partner Opentrons OT-2.

Microscopic view of brightly colored cells stained in yellow, red, green, and blue on a dark background.