Securing a Postdoctoral Position at a Research University

What makes conferences so valuable for younger researchers?

According to Sian Sloan-Dennison, who is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Strathclyde, it’s for the possibility that their next manager or laboratory advisor might be there.

In the below video segment, Sloan-Dennison advises young researchers that attending professional conferences, such as Spring SciX, are paramount to career success.

Sloan-Dennison highlights how conferences facilitate networking opportunities, as these events bring together all industry professionals, from younger researchers and students to seasoned professionals, under one roof. As a result, there is great opportunity for students to make meaningful connections with potential advisors. She emphasizes the importance of understanding some of the drawbacks of a postdoc position, which include short-term contracts and potential relocation. As a result, Sloan-Dennison says, it is important that anyone pursuing this career path understands these downsides, and if one chooses to keep on this career path, that they maintain a work-life balance and getting involved in student activities to gain mentoring experience, which is beneficial for future academic or industry careers.

Sloan-Dennison was one of the speakers at the Spring SciX conference.At the conference, Sloan-Dennison delivered a talk titled, “Droplets to Diagnosis: Digital Microfluidic SERS Detection of microRNA-122.” Her talk, which was applicable to both biological and clinical analysis, focused on a new diagnostic platform designed to improve the rapid detection of drug-induced liver injury (DILI), a major clinical challenge caused by prescription and over-the-counter medications.² In the UK, paracetamol overdose is the leading cause of DILI, driving around 100,000 hospital visits annually and underscoring the need for faster diagnostic tools.² Current methods are hindered by slow turnaround times and non-specific biomarkers that delay accurate assessment.

To address this, Sloan-Dennison and her team targeted the liver-specific biomarker microRNA-122 using a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based magnetic hybridisation assay integrated into a digital microfluidics (DMF) platform.² Coupled with a portable Raman spectrometer, the system improved sensitivity by approximately 100-fold over solution-based assays and showed promising results in preliminary human sample testing, highlighting its potential for point-of-care DILI diagnosis.²

References

1. Wetzel, W.; Spectroscopy Staff. Previewing Spring SciX 2026. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/previewing-spring-scix-2026 (accessed 2026-05-06).
2. Sloan-Dennison, S. Droplets to Diagnosis: Digital Microfluidic SERS Detection of microRNA-122. Presented at Spring SciX, Exeter, United Kingdom, 2026. Available at: https://rapide-diagnostics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Spring-SciX-Programme.pdf