EMSL Chemist Sets Sights on Cross-Globe Collaboration as IMSS President

Updated: May 2, 2023

Chris Anderton enjoyed the academic subjects of chemistry and physics in high school. But it wasn’t until an undergraduate research advisor took an interest in him that he began to take aim at science research as a plausible future career.

“I had a very enthusiastic early career [principal investigator] as my undergraduate advisor who was interested in getting folks into the lab early,” he said. “It truly paid off.”

Now several years later, Anderton is not only leading a team in the growing field of mass spectrometry imaging at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), he is also the president-elect and soon-to-be president of the Imaging Mass Spectrometry Society. He will step into the role of president in late 2024, after the current president Peggi Angel’s term comes to an end.

IMSS is dedicated to the development and application of imaging mass spectrometry. The society does this through disseminating best practices and acceptance criteria around the technology’s methodology by providing continuing educational opportunities and collaborating with other societies that have similar or related goals.

Anderton said what he most looks forward to in his new role is supporting the overall growth of the organization, where he can help foster cross-collaborations, new methods and capabilities development, and future opportunities for new scientists in the field of mass spectrometry imaging.

Currently, Anderton and his fellow society leadership members are overseeing the merge of IMSS with the Europe-based Mass Spectrometry Imaging Society—a feat that they hope to have completed by end of this year. Additionally, the society has a goal of welcoming other regions from across the world to become part of a new International Mass Spectrometry Imaging Society.

“It’s an exciting time to be in the field,” Anderton said. “It’s an area that continues to grow, from its applications in human health research, to its growing applications in plant and microbial molecular imaging and analysis. There are a lot of opportunities in science imaging that help to identify root causes and solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges.”

Anderton said this year provides ideal timing for the merge and overall growth of the organization because many new techniques and capabilities have been developed in recent years. There are also many more opportunities stemming from the field as industry starts embracing the technology to understand things like how drugs metabolize in certain areas of the body and the impacts of global warming on plant growth.

“While the field of mass spectrometry imaging has been around for a while, there are new ways we can put different methods and capabilities together and in different succession that leads to new findings,” he said.

Anderton said it has been rewarding serving with the society so far, first beginning as a founding member in 2017. He has applied and shared his knowledge in elucidating chemical interactions occurring across all kingdoms of life, including those within soils and the rhizosphere, in addition to his role in growing mass spectrometry imaging capabilities at EMSL throughout his participation in IMSS.

By coming together from different countries and research institutions, society members can communicate about new and innovative strategies and techniques to further enhance innovation in the field, he said. Additionally, he said they can promote new opportunities in the field for up-and-coming scientists—similar to what he experienced as a student and early career scientist.

For more information about Anderton and his research, view Anderton’s staff profile on the EMSL website. For more information on IMSS, visit imagingmssociety.org.