Sara Miller on Detecting Microcalcifications With Low-Frequency Raman

Sara Miller, a vibrational spectroscopist at Flinders University in Australia, and co-authors Mitchell C. Chalmers, Teemu Tomberg, and Keith Gordon are the winners of the inaugural Peter Griffiths Award. The award, named for the former Editor-in-Chief of Applied Spectroscopy, honors the best paper published in the practitioner-focused journal Applied Spectroscopy Practica and is supported by the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) and Shimadzu.

The winning paper, "Discriminating Model Microcalcifications Immersed and Under Varying Depths of Wax Using Deep Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy," reflects Fraser-Miller's research background, including work in Gordon's group, spanning pharmaceutical and biomedical applications of Raman spectroscopy.

As part of our coverage of the 2026 SciX Conference in Sparks, Nevada, Spectroscopy sat down with Miller to talk about his research. In this clip, Miller discusses her research in using Raman spectroscopy to detect microcalcifications.

The study examined model microcalcifications both immersed in wax and positioned under varying depths of wax, comparing three experimental configurations for collecting deep low-frequency Raman spectra. Miller explained the clinical or practical scenario that made detecting microcalcifications through wax and at varying depths the right problem to solve, rather than a more standard surface measurement.

The conversation also examined how those three configurations performed against one another. A defocused microspatially offset configuration produced the strongest results, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94 in the low-frequency region. Miller described what a defocused microspatially offset setup is in practical terms and why she thinks it outperformed the other two configurations.

Because model microcalcifications immersed in wax serve as a laboratory proxy for real tissue, Miller also discussed the biggest remaining gap between the controlled model demonstrated in the paper and what would be needed to apply the technique in an actual clinical breast-imaging setting.

Finally, she considered what the findings from her recent research projects mean for the future of using low-wavenumber Raman spectroscopy in medical diagnostics.

You can stay up to date on all our coverage of SciX 2026 here.

References

1. Workman, J., Jr. SciX 2026 Award Winners: The Conversations Coming Next. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/scix-2026-award-winners-the-conversations-coming-next (accessed October 7, 2026).
2. Flinders University, Sara Miller. Flinders University, 2026. https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/persons/sara-miller/ (accessed October 7, 2026).