Developing Multimodal Metabolic Nanoscopy Systems

At the 2025 SciX Conference, Lingyan Shi, an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), was recognized with Spectroscopy’s 2025 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award. She received the award for her work developing and applying advanced laser scanning multimodal microscopy and spectroscopic technologies, including stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) spectroscopy, multiphoton fluorescence (MPF), and second harmonic generation (SHG), to study metabolic dynamics during aging and disease (1).

Shi’s group developed an imaging platform that enables in situ mapping of cellular metabolism and visualization of newly synthesized biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, DNA/RNA, and carbohydrates, supporting research on aging, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and cancer (1). By integrating bioorthogonal-labeled SRS microscopy with multimodal imaging (SRS/MPF/SHG/DO-SRS), the group achieved automatic, co-registered imaging of complex molecular events at subcellular resolution, advancing both disease diagnosis and fundamental mechanistic understanding (1).

Shi holds 10 awarded and 17 pending patents and has received numerous honors, including the Blavatnik Regional Award (2018), multiple Rising Star Awards (2021), Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry (2023), Cellular Molecular Bioengineering Rising Star Award (2024), IUPS Young Faculty Award (2024), Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award (2025), and election as a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (2025) (1).

In our continued recap the SciX Conference, Spectroscopy sat down with Shi for an interview. Our discussion focused on many topics. In Part 1 of our conversation with Shi, she provided a summary of her talk that she delivered during the Award Plenary on the first day of the conference (2). The second part of our conversation with Shi focused on the technical session that she chaired at the SciX Conference, recapping the speakers that gave talks during the session and what topics were covered (3).

In this final interview segment with Shi, she discusses the challenges of developing multimodal metabolic nanoscopy systems, and where these systems could be applied in the future.

This interview clip is the third and final part of our interview with Shi. To stay up to date with the latest coverage of the 2025 SciX Conference, click here.

References

1. UCSD, Lingyan Shi. UCSD.edu. Available at: https://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/people/profile/lingyan-shi (accessed 2025-10-21).
2. Wetzel, W. Recapping the SciX Award Plenary. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/recapping-the-scix-award-plenary (accessed 2025-10-20).
3. Wetzel, W. In Case You Missed It: Recapping the Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award Session. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/in-case-you-missed-it-recapping-the-emerging-leader-in-molecular-spectroscopy-award-session (accessed 2025-10-21).