OxWiChem 2026 symposium expands to two-day event
The Oxford Women in Chemistry (OxWiChem) symposium took place on 29–30 October 2026, bringing together researchers and professionals from academia and industry for two days of scientific presentations, discussion and networking.
For the first time, this year the symposium was extended to two days, to include an international online session followed by an in-person event at Oxford Chemistry.
The first day featured talks from Prof Laura Kiessling (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), who discussed bacterial glycan assembly, and Dr Rebecca Ruck (MSD), founder of Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC), who shared insights from her career in biocatalysis and her work supporting women in chemistry.
The second day opened with a welcome from Elvira Feng and Dr Valeriia Hutskalova, followed by introductory remarks from Prof Angela Russell. The scientific programme included keynote presentations from Dr Alexandra Groves (Springer Nature), Prof Ruth Webster (University of Cambridge), Dr Daria Grosheva (Syngenta), Prof Ji-Seon Kim (University of Oxford) and Prof Ludmilla Steier (University of Oxford).
The symposium also featured flash talks from Maud Tregear, Laura Marcon and Anna Duncan, alongside a poster session that provided opportunities for participants to discuss their research and connect with colleagues working across different areas of chemistry.
Prizes were awarded to Anna Duncan for Best Oral Presentation, Nandini Guzman for Best Organic Chemistry Poster, Amelie-Sophie Niefanger for Best Inorganic Chemistry Poster, Lene Godde for Best Physical Chemistry Poster and Akvilė Mažeikaitė for the People's Choice Award.
OxWiChem thanks the oral presentation and poster judges: Prof Angela Russell, Prof Ed Anderson, Dr Alexandra Groves, Prof Ruth Webster, Dr Daria Grosheva, Prof Ji-Seon Kim, Prof Ludmilla Steier, Dr Alyssa-Jennifer Avestro, Dr Camilla Di Mino, Jessica Pancholi and Dr Rosmita Borthakur.
The event was organised by the OxWiChem 2025–2026 Committee: Elvira Feng, Esme Bailey, Ketaki Samanta, Valeriia Hutskalova, Fáinché Murphy, Sofiia-Stefaniia Zhylinska, Antara Sikder, Maria Healy and Eloise Green.
OxWiChem thanks all speakers, participants, volunteers and sponsors for their contributions, and William He for photographing the event. The symposium was supported by MPLS Culture Funding, Cell Press, Angewandte Chemie, So
wvital, Chemistry Conferences and the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford.
The expanded two-day format enabled OxWiChem to reach an international audience while continuing to provide a forum for scientific exchange, professional development and networking within the chemistry community. The organisers hope that the connections made during these two days will lead to many more discoveries, collaborations and opportunities!
