Advanced imaging techniques in biomineralisation research Faraday Discussion

Introduction

Welcome

Join us in Edinburgh in May 2025 for this edition of the Faraday Discussion series. The Faraday Discussions are unique international discussion meetings that address current and emerging topics at the forefront of the physical sciences.

This meeting is for established and early-career scientists, postgraduate students and industrial researchers working on various aspects of biomineralization research. It will provide an ideal forum for cross-fertilisation of ideas and understanding between the distinct but adjacent communities working in this exciting field.

On behalf of the organising committee, we look forward to welcoming you to Edinburgh.

Why attend?

Find out more about Faraday Discussions in the video and FAQs 鈥� see Useful links on the right.

A unique conference format that prioritises discussion
At a Faraday Discussion, the primary research papers written by the speakers are distributed to all participants before the meeting 鈥� ensuring that most of the meeting is devoted to discussing the latest research.

This provides a genuinely collaborative environment, where discussion and debate are at the foreground. All delegates, not just speakers, are invited to make comments, ask questions, or present complementary or contradictory measurements and calculations.

An exciting programme of talks 鈥� and more
Take part in a well-balanced mix of talks, discussion, poster sessions and informal networking, delivered by our expert events team. You can explore the full programme in the downloadable files on the right 鈥� whether you鈥檙e attending in-person or online, every minute provides an opportunity.

The conference dinner, included in the registration fee, contains the Marlow Cup ceremony: a unique commemoration of past Faraday Discussion organisers that is sure to encourage further discussions over dinner.

In-depth discussion with leaders in the field
World-leading and established researchers connect with each other and early-career scientists and postgraduate students to discuss the latest research and drive science forwards. It鈥檚 a unique atmosphere 鈥� and challenging others to get to the heart of the problem is encouraged!

Your contributions, published and citable
A citable record of the discussion is published in the Faraday Discussions journal, alongside the research papers. Questions, comments and remarks become a valuable part of the published scientific conversation, and every delegate can make a major contribution.

Discover Edinburgh
The Discussion will take place in Edinburgh. Step out to explore the city while you鈥檙e here 鈥� or stay a few extra days to explore the surrounding area.

Themes

It becomes increasingly clear that the relationship between structure and function of hierarchical biominerals can only be understood by connecting the length scales and interrogating comprehensively the impact of atomic-level organisation and the multi-level assembly of the resulting composites. This Faraday Discussion will focus on the application of advanced methods to scrutinise existing paradigms in biomineralization and improve our understanding of mineralisation across length scales by bringing together different communities including world-leading experts in relevant imaging and spectroscopy techniques with the biomineralization community where these methods are commonly used.

Crystal nucleation in biominerals
This session will focus on understanding events occurring at the atomic scale during the formation of biominerals: crystal nucleation under biological conditions, the interaction between ions and nuclei with biomacromolecules, the role of amorphous precursor phases and the role of kinetics and thermodynamics in determining polymorph type, crystal nucleation and morphology.

Interfaces at the nano scale
This session will focus on high resolution imaging techniques to characterize crystal growth at the nanoscale under biological conditions and the mechanisms leading to the assembly of nano-crystalline building blocks into ordered polycrystalline structures.

Interfaces at the micron scale
This session will focus on discussing techniques that are suitable for bridging the gap between the nano- and micron scales for the characterization of the structure of biominerals. We will cover both synchrotron X-ray-based imaging and electron microscopy techniques that address different length scales.

Connecting length scales
After dedicating the previous sessions to characterizing the structure of biominerals can be characterized at different length scales, the focus of this session will be to put it all together and discuss how the structure and formation of biominerals can be addressed using a range of techniques that can bridge all length scales 鈥� from the atomic to the micro-scales.

Useful links

Faraday Discussion meetings FAQs Find out more about these unique meetings

Downloads

Outline programme

Speakers

Virginie Chamard, Fresnel Institute, France

Virginie Chamard is a CNRS research director at Institut Fresnel in Marseille. Together with her group, she develops coherent x-ray and optical ptychography microscopy methods, which she applies to the study of crystalline materials (e.g., biominerals, implanted metals, phase domains, magnetic systems, etc…). She is now focusing on the integration of 3D Bragg ptychography at several synchrotron beamlines, in parallel to leading research activity on the understanding of biomineralization using physical and chemical microscopy methods, with a strong emphasis on bio-crystallisation pathway mechanisms. She received an European Research Council grant in 2017

Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University, Australia

Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis leads an emerging team doing research in computational materials chemistry and geochemistry at Curtin University. Her research spans from the study of materials structure to crystal growth and mineral surface reactivity via developing classical, quantum mechanical, and semi-empirical models. She led landmark research that proves a new and more comprehensive theory explaining how minerals form in aqueous solutions, and solved the problems related to understanding how atoms arrange into a number of challenging mineral structures. Raffaella also contributes to develop software and models that are used in academic and non-academic laboratories conducting research in chemistry, materials science, and earth science worldwide.

Originally from Italy, Raffaella has made Western Australia her home for more than 10 years. Aside from her research, she spreads her enthusiasm for science through engaging with outreach and community building activities, and is an active advocate for career accessibility and sustainability in Australia’s national research system through leading local and national groups and initiatives.

Raffaella has received several local, national and international recognition for her research and community engagement, including the 2015 Vincenzo Caglioti prize (Italian Academy of Science), the 2022 F.G. Houtermans Award (European Association of Geochemistry), and the 2023 Dorothy Hill Medal (Australian Academy of Science).

Marc McKee, McGill University, Canada

Professor Marc McKee holds the Canada Research Chair in Biomineralization at McGill University's Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. He received his Ph.D. degree from McGill University in cell biology, followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard and The Children’s Hospital Boston, and then appointments at the Forsyth Institute in Boston and University of Montreal.

McKee's research focuses on biomineralization in bones, teeth, otoconia and eggshells, and in pathologic ectopic calcification. With over 250 scientific papers, and over 36,,000 citations of his research, he has received two Distinguished Scientist Awards from the International Association for Dental Research, the Adele Boskey Esteemed Scientist Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and the C.P. Leblond Award From the FRQS Quebec Network for Bone and Oral Health Research.

Peter Rez, Arizona State University, United States

Peter Rez was an undergraduate in Cambridge and received his doctorate in Oxford. His expertise is in the physics of electron and X-ray scattering, mainly applied to electron microscopy and spectroscopy but also applied to radiation detectors and medical physics. He is responsible for scattering cross sections used in quantitative EELS analsys and was involved in the devlopment of theoretical models to understand EELS inner shell fine structure. He has also worked on modeling of battery and other materials. Early thesis work on phonon scattering in electron microscopy has been revived both for quantitative calculations of ADF contrast and to provide a framework for analysing the results for ultra high resolution EELS on the nanometer scale. Since his 3rd kidney stone he developed an interest in biomineralization, applying advanced microscopy and solid state modeling to urolithiasis, and making the transition from victim to invited speaker in a urology conference in 2 years! This lead to work on normal biomineralization, the formation of calcite shells. This has been the subject of a long-standing collaboration with the world leaders in this field at the Weizmann Institute. He has also commented on issues where physics affects society at large, both in the deployment of X-ray based body scanners at airports (since abandoned) and more recently on energy policy that is the subject of his book “The Simple Physics of Energy Use”. In the last year , after retiring from Department of Physics Arizona State University, he has been testing various hypotheses related to “climate change” using temperature records of rural Arzona.

Laurie Gower (Introductory lecture) University of Florida, United States
Frederic Marin (Closing remarks lecture) University of Bourgogne, France
Thierry Azais Sorbonne University, France
Luca Bertinetti Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany
Henrik Birkedal Aarhus University, Denmark
Lothar Houben Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Abstract submission

Oral abstracts

Submit an oral/paper abstract if you wish to be considered for an oral presentation and associated published paper. A full research paper containing new unpublished results always accompanies oral presentations at Faraday Discussions. The oral/paper abstract should outline current research in progress. Authors of the selected abstracts must then submit a full research paper with a significant amount of new, unpublished work by 20 January 2025.

The research papers are reviewed upon submission and are sent to all delegates 4 weeks before the meeting so they can be read in advance. At the meeting the presenting author is allowed five minutes to highlight the main points of their paper, and the rest of the time is for discussion. The discussion is recorded and will be published alongside the research paper in the Faraday Discussions volume.

Poster abstracts

Submit a poster abstract by 5 March 2025. Posters are displayed throughout the meeting and a poster session is held on the first evening. A poster prize will be awarded to the best student poster presented at the conference.

Additional information

All oral and poster abstracts will be reviewed by the committee. Authors will be notified of the outcome of the review process within about 6 weeks of the submission deadline. The abstracts should be no longer than one A4 page in portrait layout. Please ensure you provide the details of the presenting author and indicate whether you are submitting an abstract for oral or poster presentation.

Deadlines

Useful links

Registration

In-person registration includes:

Attendance at all scientific sessions
Attendance at the poster session
Refreshments throughout the meeting and lunch on all three days
Attendance at the poster drinks reception on 14 May
Attendance at the conference dinner on 15 May
Access to all journal paper PDF “pre-prints” before the meeting
Access to recordings of all scientific sessions post-event
For full paying delegates, a copy of the Faraday Discussions journal volume, issued approximately 5 months after the meeting, containing all papers presented at the meeting and accompanying discussion comments. Student delegates may purchase a copy of the volume at less than half price, during the registration process or on site at the meeting.

Please note accommodation is not included in the registration fee.

All prices quoted do not include VAT, which is added during registration at the prevailing rate in the UK

	Early bird	Standard
Non-member	£545+VAT	£595+VAT
欧美AV member	£435+VAT	£485+VAT
Student non-member	£265+VAT	£315+VAT
Student 欧美AV member	£215+VAT	£265+VAT
Accommpanying person	£125+VAT	£125+VAT

Virtual registration includes:

鈥婰ive access to all scientific sessions
Access to all journal paper PDF “pre-prints” before the meeting
Access to recordings of all scientific sessions post-event

All prices quoted do not include VAT, which is added during registration at the prevailing rate in the UK

	Standard
Non-member	£155+VAT
欧美AV member	£130+VAT
Student non-member	£95+VAT
Student 欧美AV member	£70+VAT

鈥婣 copy of the Faraday Discussions journal volume containing papers presented at the Discussion (issued approximately 5 months after the meeting) is not included in the virtual registration fee. Delegates may purchase a copy of the volume at less than half price, during the registration process or on site at the meeting.

欧美AV members and student 欧美AV members

If you are a 欧美AV member and wish to register for this meeting, please select the member option on the online registration page. You will need to enter your membership number.

Non-member and student non-members

For non-member registrants, affiliate membership of the 欧美AV until the end of 2025 is available. The affiliate membership application will be processed and commence once the registrant has attended the event.

Student delegates

In order to encourage undergraduate or postgraduate students to attend the Discussion, a reduced conference fee is available for students. This fee applies to those undertaking a full-time course for a recognised degree or a diploma at a university or equivalent institution.

A copy of the Faraday Discussions journal volume containing papers presented at the Discussion (issued approximately 5 months after the meeting) is not included in the student registration fee. Students may purchase a copy of the volume at less than half price, during the registration process or on site at the meeting.

Accompanying person

If you would like to bring a guest to the conference, this can be done during the registration process. There will be an additional charge, which will include all lunches, refreshments and the conference dinner. The fee does not include attendance at any scientific sessions, journal paper pre-prints or the journal volume.

Accessibility

The 欧美AV is keen to encourage and enable as many people as possible to attend our events, to benefit from the networking opportunities and the chance to hear talks from leaders in the field. If you would like to discuss accessibility, or have childcare, caring responsibilities or other care needs, please contact us to discuss your requirements so that we can enable your attendance. Please refer also to our Grants for Carers fund; for more information please see the ‘bursaries’ section on this page.

Terms and Conditions for Events run by the 欧美AV

Deadlines

Bursaries

Grants for Carers

With our Grants for carers, you can apply for up to £1,200 per year to help you attend a chemistry-related meeting, conference or workshop or a professional development event. This money would be used to cover any additional costs you incur, paying for care that you usually provide. Please visit the website for further information and eligibility criteria.

Accessibility Grants

With our Accessibility grants, you can apply for up to £1,200 per year to help with the cost of specific support to attend a chemistry-related meeting, conference, workshop or professional development event. This support might be any form of equipment, service, or other personal expense associated with meeting your access needs.

Researcher Development and Travel Grants

If you are an 欧美AV member and you are one of the following:

a PhD student actively undertaking a PhD course in the chemical sciences;
a researcher in the chemical sciences (including post docs, research technicians and research assistants);
working in academia, industry or any sector;
within 10 years of leaving full time education (at the time of the application deadline).

You can apply for up to £500 to support your participation in this event. Please note it is not necessary to have confirmation of abstract acceptance before applying for a Researcher Development and Travel Grants and we encourage you to apply as early as possible.

Please see the website for up-to-date information on eligibility, how to apply and submission deadlines.

Researcher Development and Travel Grants can be applied for in addition to Grants for Carers and Accessibility Grants.

Useful links

Sponsorship & supporting organisations

A selection of sponsorship opportunities is available for companies who would like to promote their activities at the 2025 Faraday Discussion series.

If you would like more information about sponsoring the 2025 Faraday Discussion series, please contact the Commercial Sales Department at the 欧美AV on advertising@rsc.org Sponsorship Menu

Venue

Leonardo Hotel Edinburgh Murrayfield

Leonardo Hotel Edinburgh Murrayfield, 187 Clermiston Road, Edinburgh, EH12 6UG, United Kingdom

Committee

Organised by

Contact information

欧美AV

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