Advanced X-ray imaging is undergoing rapid change, and two researchers at different stages of their careers are offering complementary perspectives on where the field is heading and how young scientists can build lasting research programs within it. Xiaochuan Pan, a professor of radiology at the University of Chicago, and Ronan Smith, winner of the 2025 Physics in Medicine & Biology Early Career Award, will share their insights in a conversation moderated by Carol Clark, publisher of the journal.
Pan's work centers on the physics, algorithms, and engineering that underpin tomographic imaging and its biomedical and clinical applications. He has made pioneering contributions to advanced theory and algorithms for conventional and spectral computed tomography, positron emission tomography, and single-photon-emission computed tomography. His research also extends to algorithm development for digital breast tomosynthesis, digital lung tomosynthesis, magnetic resonance imaging, electron-paramagnetic resonance imaging, phase-contrast CT, and photo-acoustic tomography. Beyond these methodological advances, Pan has developed translational imaging technology programs tailored to specific biomedical and clinical needs, a focus that reflects the growing emphasis on moving imaging research from the laboratory into practice.
Smith, a physicist interested in better ways of X-ray imaging, completed his PhD at Southampton University in the United Kingdom in 2023. His doctoral work developed a technique known as dark-field X-ray imaging. He then moved to Adelaide University in Australia as a grant-funded researcher in the School of Medicine, where he focuses on developing and implementing imaging techniques for challenging and dynamic environments, particularly the respiratory system. His current research examines novel ways of analyzing and understanding a new method for dynamic lung imaging called X-ray Velocimetry, with side projects continuing in dark-field X-ray imaging.
The conversation is expected to address what defines high-impact research in medical physics and how the journal Physics in Medicine & Biology supports and amplifies such work. Pan will also explore what sets outstanding early-career research apart and offer practical strategies for increasing the visibility, reach, and long-term impact of publications. The session will spotlight Smith's award-winning paper and connect his contributions to wider developments in medical physics and imaging.
Physics in Medicine & Biology is an international journal of biomedical physics and engineering published by IOP Publishing on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. Its editor-in-chief is Katia Parodi of Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. The journal's early-career award, now in its 2025 cycle, recognizes researchers whose work shows particular promise in the field.
Pan's standing in the field is reflected in his election as a fellow of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Optical Society, the National Academy of Inventors, and SPIE. That breadth of recognition underscores how imaging research increasingly draws on physics, engineering, computation, and clinical medicine simultaneously.
For early-career researchers, the discussion arrives at a moment when imaging techniques are becoming more sophisticated and more specialized. Methods such as dark-field X-ray imaging and X-ray Velocimetry aim to capture information that conventional approaches cannot, particularly in dynamic settings like the lungs. Translating those methods into clinical use requires not only technical advances but also clear publication strategies and an understanding of how research reaches the broader medical physics community.
The session is designed to offer both a survey of the field's evolving landscape and concrete guidance for researchers seeking to establish themselves within it. By pairing a senior investigator's perspective on high-impact work with an early-career award winner's account of his own trajectory, the conversation highlights how the field's next generation is already contributing to its most active areas.
