Yining Ji Chen earned her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Barcelona, Spain. She then conducted postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute under the guidance of Professor Donna G. Blackmond, where she developed a passion for advancing and optimizing chemical transformations through in-depth mechanistic studies. This experience inspired her to join Merck in 2014, where she continued to leverage detailed mechanistic studies to improve process robustness, enhance safety, and drive innovation and optimization. Currently, Yining is a Principal Scientist within the Data-Rich Measurement Analytical group and serves as the team lead for the Small Molecule Process Analytical Technology (PAT) group. Her team applies PAT tools across both drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP) development. On the DS side, they utilize PAT for comprehensive process monitoring and understanding to support process development across scales ranging from grams to kilograms. On the DP side, the focus is on monitoring critical quality attributes such as content and blend uniformity, amorphous content, water content, and other key parameters. Yining’s expertise lies at the intersection of organic, analytical, and physical organic chemistry, with a strong emphasis on technology development. She has made significant contributions to the field, co-authoring over 42 research papers and reviews, as well as one book chapter. In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Yining Ji Chen received the ACS Earlier Career Investigator Award in 2022 and, most recently, the 2025 ACS Rising Star Award.