Summary The purpose of the planned conference is to facilitate development of Raman-spectroscopy based clinical appli- cations. Raman scattering provides label-free contrast for imaging that derives from intrinsic molecular vibrations. Because it is label-free and reports in an unbiased way on all molecular species in a sample, it provides a holistic “view” of the chemical environment in clinical samples, and thus holds significant value as a diagnostic and treatment monitoring tool. While the phenomenon of Raman scattering has been known since 1920, and its clinical potential has been recognized for many decades, roadblocks including weak signal levels and complexity of its readout has precluded it from clinical use. These roadblocks are now being removed through innovations in instrument development and machine learning.