Roaring into the conference’s second half, our picks for today capture analytical science in motion – mapping individual cells, decoding molecular architecture, and rethinking how forensic labs meet the challenges of the modern world. Whatever your poison, there’s no shortage of mass spec magic to immerse yourself in.
Here are our highlights for today, enjoy!
Henry Thomas, Deputy Editor
Today’s Must See
8:30–10:30 am (Hall AB): WOA am: Single Cell Omics (Kevin Clark)
Beginning day three, we have a series highlighting recent innovations in single cell omics: a field rapidly growing in both innovation and notoriety. By analyzing at the cellular level, researchers are uncovering molecular differences that could pave the way for truly personalized diagnostics and treatment.
In the words of Patrick Pribil and Katherine Tran, when we discussed single cell proteomics with them last year, single cell research “promises to improve diagnostic and treatment capabilities in cancer and beyond – helping deliver the right treatments to the right patients exactly when they need them.”
2:30–4:30 pm (Ballroom III): WOG pm: Ion Mobility: Structure Determination & Applications (Erin Baker)
As Erin Baker noted back in 2019, “While IMS-MS was once characterized as an emerging technique in the omics field, it is now well-integrated into modern omic measurements. Its utility in separating peptides and proteins with only minor structural differences has proven extremely powerful in bottom-up, middle-down, and top-down studies.”
This session picks up from there, addressing questions on charge-state-dependent CCS (collision cross section) shifts, intramolecular binding energies and the growing role of machine learning in metabolite annotation.
5:45–7:00 pm (Room 345-346): Forensics & Homeland Security: Emerging Technology for the Forensic Chemist (Patrick Fedick)
Patrick Fedick leads an evening discussion around new and emerging technologies being adopted – or soon to be adopted – in forensic and homeland security laboratories. Presentations will cover applications of novel ion sources, first-generation instrumentation, and case studies from practitioners currently navigating the implementation process.
The discussions will also address long-standing analytical challenges and explore how recent advances are expanding the capabilities of forensic labs. As Fedick emphasized to us in Three-Dimensional Defense: “Analytical chemistry is crucial to national defense,” with this session serving as an update on the technologies reshaping that role.
Tomorrow’s Planner
10:10–10:30 am (Ballroom III): Impact of urban wildfires on drinking water: Urban structural ash produces more toxic disinfection byproducts than vegetation ash (Susan Richardson)
4:10–4:30 pm (Ballroom II): Twenty Years of Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry as A Mainstream Technology for High-Resolution Accurate Mass Analysis (Alexander Makarov)
4:45–5:45 pm (Hall AB): Closing Plenary: Melissa Trainer (NASA Goddard Space Center) (Melissa Trainer)
Thought of the Day
“While we wait for rulings on pauses, lawsuits and possibly more executive orders, even if everything were to be reversed tomorrow, we’ve fallen greatly behind where we were just a matter of weeks ago – a lot of the damage has already been done. Ultimately, science cannot start to move forward again until order is restored, chaos is removed, and our researchers and thinkers are no longer under attack.” – Erin Baker
Aprés-Sci
After hours of absorbing information, why not get some fresh air and stretch your legs at Patterson Park? Situated in the heart of Baltimore, its peaceful paths, calm lakes, and lush landscapes provide an ideal environment to unwind. And if you’re feeling up for it, you can walk to the top of the historic Pagoda for a stunning view of the city. But if you’d rather take it easy, no one would blame you for finding a quiet bench and settling in with a good book instead.
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