One Month Later: Reflecting on the 2025 SciX Conference

Last month, the SciX Conference took place outside of Cincinnati in Covington, Kentucky, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, from October 5–10, 2025. The SciX Conference, which is organized by the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), is popular because of the exhibits and the technical program that is put together each year.

Reflecting on the Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award Plenary

This conference was unique in many ways for me. Although I’ve attended the SciX Conference before this year, my participation in the conference was different this year. For one, I had the honor of presenting the 2025 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award winner to Lingyan Shi of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Shi, an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at UCSD, and her group develops advanced optical spectroscopy and imaging tools to study metabolic dynamics in aging, disease, and the immune system (1). Some of her key contributions to spectroscopy include the discovery of the “Golden Window” for deep-tissue imaging, the development of D₂O-probed stimulated Raman scattering (DO-SRS) metabolic imaging, and advances in super-resolution Raman techniques (1).

Shi also delivered a talk at the conference that highlighted a label-free multiplex molecular imaging approach that enables real-time visualization of metabolic dynamics at the subcellular level. Using a multimodal metabolic nanoscopy platform that combines DO-SRS, SRS, multiphoton fluorescence (MPF), fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), and second-harmonic generation (SHG) techniques, Shi’s method employs deuterated metabolic probes to detect carbon–deuterium bonds in the Raman-silent region, allowing precise imaging of newly synthesized biomolecules. This powerful approach uncovers metabolic heterogeneity among cells and tissues and reveals that tau protein overexpression in Alzheimer’s brains disrupts lipid metabolism—an effect reversible through AMPK activation. The technology holds broad potential for advancing disease mechanism research, biomarker discovery, drug development, and therapeutic monitoring.

Reflecting on the Networking Opportunities at SciX

One aspect to this conference that stood out to most attendees was the various networking opportunities. This was particularly beneficial for graduate students who are beginning to think about the next stage of their lives. Through these sessions, attendees were able to meet new people and gain insights that could fuel their future career directions.

“Some of the networking events that I've been to have been awesome, meeting people that I would never meet otherwise,” said Renee Romano, a graduate student at The Ohio State University (2).

“I met so many people who are in the same field, and it was so interesting to share their experiences,” said Nishadi Moragoda Liyanage, another graduate student at The Ohio State University (3). “I think this might be a really helpful for my future directions. I joined a speed mentoring session which was really good, and I met several people from the industry and also in academia. And since I really haven't desired whether to go for an industrial job or academia, I got really good ideas and about what I should think about in the future.”

The SciX Conference continues to be a must-attend event for those in the analytical sciences. Thanks to the breadth of the scientific program that is put together each year, there are always many accomplished scientists who talk about the great science being conducted in their laboratories and industries

“It's just the fun part of being here,” said Zac Schultz, a Professor at The Ohio State University (4). “It’s a little bit like preaching to the choir because we all kind of do related things, but just hearing what everybody else is doing and just seeing the excitement, it helps keep you jazzed and wanting to keep coming back and learning new things. It's just the fun of this conference.”

The 2026 SciX Conference will take place at the Nugget Casino, in Sparks, Nevada, from October 4–9, 2026.

References

1. Wetzel, W. SciX 2025 Award Plenary to Spotlight Breakthroughs in Catalysis and Biomedical Imaging. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/scix-2025-award-plenary-to-spotlight-breakthroughs-in-catalysis-and-biomedical-imaging (accessed 2025-10-17).
2. Wetzel, W. Using Handheld Raman Spectroscopy for In-Field Plant Monitoring. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/using-handheld-raman-spectroscopy-for-in-field-plant-monitoring (accessed 2025-10-31).
3. Wetzel, W. Quantifying the Vibrational Stark Effect. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/quantifying-the-vibrational-stark-effect (accessed 2025-10-31).
4. Wetzel, W. Advancements in Spectrally Resolved SERS Imaging. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/advancements-in-spectrally-resolved-sers-imaging (accessed 2025-10-31).