MetaboNews -- March 2017
MetaboNews Masthead
Published in partnership between
TMIC and the Metabolomics Society
Issue 67 - March 2017

CONTENTS:


Online version of this newsletter:
 http://www.metabonews.ca/Mar2017/MetaboNews_Mar2017.htm
TMIC Services
TMIC Services

Welcome to the sixty-seventh issue of MetaboNews, a monthly newsletter published in partnership between The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC, http://www.metabolomicscentre.ca/) and the international Metabolomics Society (http://www.metabolomicssociety.org/), to keep metabolomics researchers and other professionals informed about new technologies, software, databases, events, job postings, conferences, training opportunities, interviews, publications, awards, and other newsworthy items concerning metabolomics. MetaboNews represents the one-stop-shop for the very latest and most critical news about the science of metabolomics. In this issue, we feature a Metabolomics Spotlight article by Therese Koal of Biocrates Life Sciences AG (Austria) titled "Worldwide first two successful ring trials in standardized targeted metabolomics", and a metabolomics interview with Andrew Patterson of Pennsylvania State University (USA).
This issue of MetaboNews is supported by:

Chenomx -- Metabolite Discovery & Measurement
Chenomx Inc.

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Metabolomics Society Logo

Metabolomics Society News

CONFERENCE CORNER  Author: Horst Schirra

13th Annual Conference of the International Metabolomics Society
25th – 29th June, 2017, Brisbane, Australia

Metabolomics 2017
 
Abstract Submission NOW OPEN!
The 13th Annual Conference of the Metabolomics Society (Brisbane, 26th-29th June 2017) welcomes submission of abstracts for original contributions to the field. Scientists in academia, government, industry and others working in the field of metabolomics are invited to submit abstracts in the following themes:
 DO NOT DELAY, online abstract submissions for consideration for talks close on March 24, 2017.

Click here for more information.

Note: “Poster only” abstracts will be reviewed/accepted on a rolling basis. They are likely to be accepted within 2-3 weeks of submission, while “oral or poster” abstracts will be reviewed together shortly after the deadline. If you want to secure early acceptance of your submission, we suggest that you submit your poster abstract as early as possible.

Travel Awards
The Metabolomics Society will offer $500 Travel Awards to support Students and Early Career Researchers attendance at the Conference. For additional information on Awards, please click here.

Click here for all the conference details: http://Metabolomics2017.org
Make the most of your trip to Brisbane, click the logos below to learn more about local attractions.
Brisbane
          
Queensland



MEMBERS CORNER

Board of Directors  Author: Jules Griffin, Metabolomics Society President

Words from the Chair
Each month the Board of Directors hold a teleconference to discuss Society business and it’s at these meetings I get to really appreciate the real global nature of the Society. As I sit down with a glass of red at 9 PM in the UK, my European colleagues are more likely to be tucking into a coco while those in Australia, Japan, and Singapore are already starting a new day. One of the topics discussed at the February meeting was how we can try to make the work of the Board more open to the Society at large. While we can’t print detailed minutes for good legal and confidentiality reasons, it would be good to get some of the news out rapidly to the Society. So the aim of this section is to inform you of some of the highlights of this month’s board meeting. Firstly, we are all getting very excited about the Brisbane meeting, with Darren Creek updating us on progress on workshop selection and the abstract submission process. Reza Salek has been doing sterling work generating a legal statement for the Forum and other online presences. This will allow us to launch a number of online resources both through the Society and the EMN to provide increased interactions between Society members. Krista Zanetti also led a survey of board members on what our priorities are for the further development of the Society. Watch this space for a survey of the membership to complement this work. The final point to pick up on is we’ve opened nominations for Honorary Fellows of the Society. This is our most prestigious award for those that have either made lifetime contributions and/or revolutionised the field with their discoveries. So, I encourage you to get nominating!

Honorary Fellow nominations are due March 20th, 2017.
Click here for more information on nominating an Honorary Fellow.

Early-career Members Network (EMN)  Author: Baljit Ubhi
The EMN is dedicated to and run by early-career scientists who are members of the Metabolomics Society and are from academia, government, or industry. The network aims to provide a forum for metabolomics researchers at the start of their professional career.

11th Annual International Conference of the Metabolomics Society:
The EMN will host four workshop sessions for this year’s annual conference in Brisbane tailored for the needs of the early-career members. The four workshops are as follows:
  1. Experimental Design in Metabolomics: How to get started?
  2. MS Data Processing
  3. Statistical Considerations and Pathway Analysis Strategies for Metabolomics Datasets
  4. Career Development
More details can be found by here: http://metabolomics2017.org/program/workshops, register early and the call for abstracts is now OPEN.

Also, WATCH this section for the EMN reception details being held at the conference on Tuesday 27th June at 7 PM, where we are planning on creating a lot of fun and games, allowing early career members to socialize and network!

EMN Webinar Series:
The EMN webinar series continues and in March our next speaker will be Dr. Stephan Hann from BOKU, Vienna and his talk titled “How well do I quantify? Concepts for method validation and evaluation of measurement uncertainty in metabolomics” will focus on the quantitation strategies for LC- and GC-based metabolomics.

Please note that the webinar series are freely available for everyone courtesy of the Metabolomics Society and will be uploaded to the society's website. All subsequent sessions from our series will be available for members of the Metabolomics Society only with the opportunity to revisit live recorded sessions at your own convenience. Make sure to check the Metabolomics Society website, Twitter, Facebook for updates on the webinar.


TASK GROUPS CORNER

Metabolite Identification Task Group  Author: Rick Dunn
Attending Brisbane for Metabolomics2017? If so then put Monday morning in your calendar to attend a workshop operated by the Metabolite Identification Task Group. The workshop will include discussions on tools and reporting standards and will include a Q&A session.


INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATES CORNER

 Australian & New Zealand Metabolomics Network (ANZMN)  Author: Oliver Jones
Visit http://www.anzmn.org
Metabolomics generates a lot of data but at present there are no Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) that are specifically tailored for metabolomics laboratories. Well, that is no longer true as Australian researchers have developed MASTR-MS, a novel LIMS solution developed at Metabolomics Australia that can be used by both small individual labs and large geographically distributed collaborating labs. MASTR-MS is open source and is freely available to the scientific community. It manages the entire workflow of a sample starting from capturing client/collaborator communication to setting up projects, experiments, samples and to the automatic capture of raw data from instruments. MASTR-MS has an exhaustive User Management System, Sample Management System, and a Data Management System. MASTR-MS instances have been installed and tested in both Metabolomics and Proteomics labs and work very well. If you have a metabolomics lab or workflow and would like to have a test account for MASTR-MS or would like to have it installed in your lab, please contact Dr. Saravanan Dayalan, Lead Bioinformatician of Metabolomics Australia on sdayalan@unimelb.edu.au for more information. You can read more about it at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11306-016-1142-2.


 
 Software Spotlight

Metabolomics Spotlight

Worldwide first two successful ring trials in standardized targeted metabolomics

 Feature article contributed by Therese Koal, Head of Research and Development, Biocrates Life Sciences AG, Austria

Summary

Metabolomics is a promising tool in providing new insight to biological questions, especially in biomarker discovery. However, one must assume that it is unlikely there is a single 'golden' endogenous biomarker that answers the biological hypothesis, e.g., prediction or diagnosis of diseases. The consensus in the research community is that most studies in the scientific literature document that 'metabolic signatures' as a panel of affected endogenous metabolites will be the answer. This is plausible due to alterations of the affected metabolic pathways. It also appears that metabolic signatures can provide an improvement in statistical outcome and robustness of biomarker candidates. Therefore, as the leading researchers in metabolomics clearly describe in their current international publication "Metabolomics enable precision medicine: A White Paper, Community Perspective" [1], future metabolic signatures and not individual 'golden' biomarkers as new diagnostics will find their way into clinical laboratory medicine. Biocrates' targeted metabolomics kits are explicitly mentioned in this White Paper. Another key publication from David Wishart in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (2016) [2] considers the Biocrates kits as a unique technical solution ready today for inter-laboratory comparability with quantitative and reproducible metabolomics data. It is of utmost importance to successfully develop new metabolomics applications, e.g., in drug development, future clinical applications including establishment of reference values with necessary routine-robustness, quality and analytical workflow controlled and standardized quantification of the metabolome. [3]

In order to demonstrate the technology advancement with the Biocrates kits, two ring trials with the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit [4] and Biocrates® Bile Acids Kit [5] in international laboratories including academia, clinical laboratory medicine, government and pharma industry were carried out and published in peer-reviewed journals in 2016. Ring trials are excellent tools to demonstrate the inter-laboratory performance of a new technology before comprehensive round-robin test programs from governmental-based institutes are available for clinical/clinical-near applications. Both ring trials demonstrated the robustness and comparability of kit-based targeted metabolomics data from laboratory to laboratory, which has not yet been achieved with any other metabolomics approach.

With the standardized analysis of 188 metabolites in 10 µL sample volume from five metabolite classes (acyl carnitines, amino acids, hexoses, phospho- and sphingolipids and biogenic amines) of central metabolism, the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit has proven to be a quantitative gold standard technology in targeted metabolomics with more than 300 scientific publications in the last 3 years. In order to support ongoing efforts of harmonization of lipid nomenclature, to facilitate improved biological interpretation, and to provide a link between the different lipid annotations, a list with the potential isobares/isomers of all lipid signals measured with the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit (phosphatidylcholines (PC), lyso phosphatidylcholines (lysoPC) and sphingomyelins (SM)) is available on the Biocrates webpage. Six laboratories with different instrumentation were included in the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit ring trial. The study design of the ring trial contained 26 human test materials in replicates (3 x QCs, 1 x NIST standard reference material (SRM) 1950, 1 x lipaemic plasma, 20 x plasma (EDTA, heparin, citrate) and serum, 1 x sample pool). [4]

The Biocrates® Bile Acids Kit is able to quantify 16 human and 19 rodent (mouse)-specific bile acids, covering all central primary and secondary (glycine/taurine-conjugated and unconjugated) bile acids in 10 µL sample volume. The ring trial with the Biocrates® Bile Acids Kit was performed across twelve laboratories with nine human plasma and serum and mouse plasma samples in replicates. [5]

Advantages of standardized targeted metabolomics kits

Figure 1. Advantages of standardized targeted metabolomics kits for ring trial proven inter-laboratory and inter-instrument comparability.

The ring trials revealed inter-laboratory analytical median precision (coefficient of variation, CV) of 7.6% for the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit and mean precision of 8.3% for the Biocrates® Bile Acids Kit, respectively. For the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit and Biocrates® Bile Acids Kit, mean inter-laboratory accuracies of 100 ± 20% were obtained for tested human and mouse samples. The median inter-laboratory accuracy and precision of the AbsoluteIDQ® p180 Kit for the NIST standard reference material (SRM) 1950 were 107% and 6.7%, respectively.

Highlights
  • Biocrates targeted metabolomics kits deliver excellent inter-laboratory comparability with quantitative, quality controlled and reproducible metabolomics data.
  • Two worldwide first ring trials with Biocrates kits demonstrates the readiness-of-technology for standardized targeted metabolomics.

References
  1. Beger RD, Dunn W, Schmidt MA. Metabolomics enables precision medicine: "A White Paper, Community Perspective". Metabolomics (2016), 12:149. doi:10.1007/s11306-016-1094-6.
  2. Wishart DS. Emerging applications of metabolomics in drug discovery and precision medicine. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (2016), 15:473.
  3. Diaz DA, Koal T. Progress in metabolomics standardisation and its significance in future clinical laboratory medicine. eJIFCC (2016), eJIFCC2016Vol27No4pp331-343.
  4. Siskos AP, Jain P,  Römisch-Margl W, Bennett M, Achaintre D, Asad Y, Marney LC, Richardson L, Koulman A, Griffin JL, Raynaud FI, Scalbert A, Adamski J, Prehn C, Keun HC. Interlaboratory reproducibility of a targeted metabolomics platform for analysis of human serum and plasma. Anal. Chem. (2017), 89(1), pp 656–665. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.6b02930.
  5. Pham HT, Arnhard K, Asad YJ, Deng L, Felder TK, St. John-Williams L, Kaever V, Leadley M, Mitro N, Muccio S, Prehn C, Rauh M, Rolle-Kampczyk U, Thomson W, Uhl O, Ulaszewska M, Vogeser M, Wishart DS, Koal T. Inter-laboratory robustness of next-generation bile acid study in mice and humans: International Ring Trial involving 12 laboratories. JALM (2016), doi:10.1373/jalm.2016.020537.

Please note: If you know of any metabolomics research programs, software, databases, statistical methods, meetings, workshops, or training sessions that we should feature in future issues of this newsletter, please email Ian Forsythe at metabolomics.innovation@gmail.com.
 MetaboInterview Icon

MetaboInterview
This section features interviews with prominent researchers in the field of metabolomics. The aim of these interviews is to shed light on metabolomics researchers around the world and give them an opportunity to share their metabolomics story. In this issue, we feature an interview with Andrew Patterson.
Andrew D. Patterson

 Associate Professor of Molecular Toxicology at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Andrew Patterson
Biography

Andrew Patterson is an Associate Professor of Molecular Toxicology at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park. The Patterson lab’s focus is on understanding the host-metabolite-microbiome axis—specifically how the manipulation of gut microbiota by xenobiotic exposure impacts metabolism, host metabolite pools like bile acids, and how these interactions are modulated by host nuclear receptors. The lab employs a variety of tools including 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and conventional and gnotobiotic mouse models to facilitate its study of these pathways and understand their potential impact on human health and disease.


Metabolomics Interview (MN, MetaboNews; AP, Andrew Patterson)

 MN: How did you get involved in metabolomics?

AP: While deciding where to do a postdoctoral fellowship, I heard that Dr. Frank Gonzalez at the National Cancer Institute was starting a metabolomics program and this really appealed to me as it was a new technology and could provide a different perspective by which to study health and disease. It was during my postdoctoral work there that I began to appreciate how invaluable metabolomics would be in my future research. We explored how metabolomics approaches could inform us about drug metabolism [1,2], nuclear receptor function [3], and biomarkers [4,5]. Most importantly, we began to appreciate the value of metabolomics in our studies of the host-microbiome interaction.

 MN: What are some of the most exciting aspects of your work in metabolomics?

AP: My students and postdoctoral fellows are focused on understanding how the gut microbiota and host communicate thought small molecule chatter. In fact, LC-MS- and 1H NMR-based metabolomics have been instrumental in helping us understand how the gut microbiota impact metabolism particularly between the gut and liver [6-11]. I am certain metabolomics will be a key tool to better understand the role and impact of the microbiome in human metabolism [12].

Another important aspect of our work is made possible by a unique collaboration with Drs. Frank Gonzalez and Jules Griffin. We are interested in assessing how reproducible metabolomics studies can be across labs and what parts of the metabolomics process most significantly contribute to or detract from reproducibility.

MN: What key metabolomics initiatives are you pursuing at your research centre or institute?

 AP: Penn State University has a broad interest in metabolomic applications, ranging from precision medicine to agriculture. The University has made great investment in platforms and personnel to help realize the potential of metabolomics in these areas. We are seeing investigators use metabolomics to study agriculturally important animals like cows and horses, understand plant immunity, and assess fungal parasite manipulation in ant brains. More recently, we are developing metabolomic approaches to study host-microbiome interaction in a variety of model systems.

MN: What is happening in your country in terms of metabolomics?

AP: Funding through the NIH Common Fund has accelerated metabolomics in the United States through the regional comprehensive metabolomics resource cores, technology development, training programs, and funding opportunities for labs and students across the country. I think some of the best investment has been in the development of training programs and workshops for students, postdoctoral fellows, and investigators to help sustain metabolomics into the future.

 MN: How do you see your work in metabolomics being applied today or in the future?

 AP: I think studies where samples have been collected longitudinally from individuals over months or years will be key for helping metabolomics find its way into routine checkups at the doctor’s office. However, before this becomes reality, we’ll need continued investment and research to develop a mechanistic understanding for how our diet, the drugs we take, the environment we live in, and the microbiota that reside in and on us impacts our metabolism.

 MN: As you see it, what are metabolomics' greatest strengths?

AP: I read Biochemical Individuality by Dr. Roger Williams when I first got to Penn State in 2011. It was published in 1956 and its message regarding the contribution of our genetics, diet, and environment to our unique biochemical and metabolic profile set the stage for what we now call precision medicine. In many of our metabolomics studies of human samples, we could easily see this concept of biochemical individuality spelled out in the complex variation of our data [12]. As metabolomics continues to mature and become more cost-effective, it will become commonplace for us to assess changes in our urinary, blood, or breath metabolome in a longitudinal fashion, thus truly personalizing our health monitoring.

MN: What do you see as the greatest barriers for metabolomics? 

AP: We’ve only just scratched the surface of the vast number of endogenous and xenobiotic chemicals that contribute to our biochemical individuality. Working against us is the tremendous range of chemical concentrations, the different physico-chemical properties of these chemicals, and the necessity to have multiple analytical platforms to detect these metabolites.
 
MN: What improvements, technological or otherwise, need to take place for metabolomics to really take off? 

AP: In my opinion, metabolomics has already taken off as the result of the hard work of many laboratories and organizations across the world. The Metabolomics Society has helped promote and lobby for metabolomics, and the annual society meeting has provided an important venue for people interested in metabolomics to learn and exchange ideas. We must continue to develop data mining tools, educate investigators on the use of proper statistics in metabolomics, and create new ways to merge metabolomics with other data streams.

MN: How does the future look in terms of funding for metabolomics?

AP: Metabolomics is an accessible tool to many investigators now and, therefore, is a common component in grant applications to federal agencies and private foundations. It provides a functional component supporting other -omics approaches including studies of the microbiome. However, there is still tremendous need to fund basic research into mapping the metabolome, establishing and maintaining infrastructure for metabolite databases, building and updating protocol repositories, developing training programs and curriculum, and promoting open exchange of data. Continued funding for development and maintenance of resources like the HMDB (http://www.hmdb.ca/), Metabolomics Workbench (http://www.metabolomicsworkbench.org/), MetaboLights (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/), and Metlin (https://metlin.scripps.edu/) will be key to the continued success of metabolomics. 

MN: What role can metabolomics standards play?

AP: The Metabolomics Standards Initiative (MSI) established reporting criteria for metabolomics studies and has been a strong voice favoring open data exchange. Given the NIH requirement to ensure the highest levels of rigor and reproducibility, initiatives like MSI and its working group members will ensure metabolomics experiments comply. However, we need more accountability, particularly with journals, to ensure publications adhere to these requirements.

References
  1. Patterson AD, Carlson BA, Li F, Bonzo JA, Yoo MH, Krausz KW, Conrad M, Chen C, Gonzalez FJ, Hatfield DL. Disruption of thioredoxin reductase 1 protects mice from acute acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity through enhanced NRF2 activity. Chem Res Toxicol. 2013;26(7):1088-96. doi: 10.1021/tx4001013. PubMed PMID: 23697945.
  2. Patterson AD, Shah YM, Matsubara T, Krausz KW, Gonzalez FJ. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha induction of uncoupling protein 2 protects against acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity. Hepatology. 2012;56(1):281-90. doi: 10.1002/hep.25645. PubMed PMID: 22318764; PMCID: PMC3378765.
  3. Gonzalez FJ, Jiang C, Patterson AD. An Intestinal Microbiota-Farnesoid X Receptor Axis Modulates Metabolic Disease. Gastroenterology. 2016;151(5):845-59. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.08.057. PubMed PMID: 27639801; PMCID: PMC5159222.
  4. Patterson AD, Lanz C, Gonzalez FJ, Idle JR. The role of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics in medical countermeasures against radiation. Mass Spectrom Rev. 2010;29(3):503-21. Epub 2009/11/06. doi: 10.1002/mas.20272. PubMed PMID: 19890938; PMCID: PMC3690279.
  5. Patterson AD, Maurhofer O, Beyoglu D, Lanz C, Krausz KW, Pabst T, Gonzalez FJ, Dufour JF, Idle JR. Aberrant lipid metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma revealed by plasma metabolomics and lipid profiling. Cancer Res. 2011;71(21):6590-600. Epub 2011/09/09. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-11-0885. PubMed PMID: 21900402; PMCID: PMC3206149.
  6. Cai J, Zhang L, Jones RA, Correll JB, Hatzakis E, Smith PB, Gonzalez FJ, Patterson AD. Antioxidant Drug Tempol Promotes Functional Metabolic Changes in the Gut Microbiota. J Proteome Res. 2016;15(2):563-71. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00957. PubMed PMID: 26696396; PMCID: PMC4847541.
  7. Jiang C, Xie C, Li F, Zhang L, Nichols RG, Krausz KW, Cai J, Qi Y, Fang ZZ, Takahashi S, Tanaka N, Desai D, Amin SG, Albert I, Patterson AD, Gonzalez FJ. Intestinal farnesoid X receptor signaling promotes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. J Clin Invest. 2015;125(1):386-402. doi: 10.1172/JCI76738. PubMed PMID: 25500885; PMCID: PMC4382255.
  8. Li F, Jiang C, Krausz KW, Li Y, Albert I, Hao H, Fabre KM, Mitchell JB, Patterson AD, Gonzalez FJ. Microbiome remodelling leads to inhibition of intestinal farnesoid X receptor signalling and decreased obesity. Nat Commun. 2013;4:2384. Epub 2013/09/26. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3384. PubMed PMID: 24064762.
  9. Li F, Pang X, Krausz KW, Jiang C, Chen C, Cook JA, Krishna MC, Mitchell JB, Gonzalez FJ, Patterson AD. Stable isotope- and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics as tools in drug metabolism: a study expanding tempol pharmacology. J Proteome Res. 2013;12(3):1369-76. Epub 2013/01/11. doi: 10.1021/pr301023x. PubMed PMID: 23301521; PMCID: PMC3594779.
  10. Zhang L, Nichols RG, Correll J, Murray IA, Tanaka N, Smith PB, Hubbard TD, Sebastian A, Albert I, Hatzakis E, Gonzalez FJ, Perdew GH, Patterson AD. Persistent Organic Pollutants Modify Gut Microbiota-Host Metabolic Homeostasis in Mice Through Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation. Environ Health Perspect. 2015;123(7):679-88. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1409055. PubMed PMID: 25768209; PMCID: PMC4492271.
  11. Zhang L, Xie C, Nichols RG, Chan SHJ, Jiang C, Hao R, Smith PB, Cai J, Simons MN, Hatzakis E, Maranas CD, Gonzalez FJ, Patterson AD. Farnesoid X Receptor Signaling Shapes the Gut Microbiota and Controls Hepatic Lipid Metabolism. mSystems. 2016;1(5). doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00070-16.
  12. Patterson AD, Turnbaugh PJ. Microbial determinants of biochemical individuality and their impact on toxicology and pharmacology. Cell Metab. 2014;20(5):761-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.07.002. PubMed PMID: 25156450; PMCID: PMC4252706.
 

Please note: We are open to suggestions for our MetaboInterviews section. Please send suggestions for future interview candidates to Ian Forsythe at metabolomics.innovation@gmail.com.
Metabolomics Current Contents

Metabolomics Current Contents

Recently published papers in metabolomics:

Metabolomics Events

Metabolomics Events
20 Feb to
17 Mar 2017
Metabolomics Data Processing and Data Analysis Online Course
An online course by the Birmingham Metabolomics Training Center, University of Birmingham, UK hosted by Futurelearn
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

This four-week online course will explore the tools and approaches that are used to process and analyse metabolomics data, we will investigate the challenges that are typically encountered in the analysis of metabolomics data and provide solutions to overcome these problems. The course will be delivered using a combination of short videos, articles, discussions, and online workshops with step-by-step instructions and test data sets. We will provide quizzes, polls and peer review exercises each week, so that you can review your learning throughout the course. The material will be delivered over a four week period, with an estimated learning time of four hours per week. If you do not have time to complete the course during the 4-week period you will retain access to the course material to revisit, as you are able.

Registration fee: Early-bird £200, Standard £220

For further information and registration details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/Metabolomics-Data-Processing-and-Data-Analysis.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
13-15 Mar 2017
CPSA Metabolomics 2017
Venue: The University of Florida Clinical & Translational Science Institute, Gainesville, Florida, USA

3rd Annual Metabolomics Symposium on Clinical and Pharmaceutical Solutions through Analysis (CPSA Metabolomics 2017)

"LC-MRM assays targeting constant region peptides determine the type and isoform of the involved Ig and quantify its expression..." - Remily-Wood, ER; Benson, K; Baz, RC; et al. Proteomics Clin Appl. 2014 Oct;8(9-10):783-95.

Personalized Metabolism
The symposium session on Personalized Metabolism will highlight new technologies, approaches, and strategies of metabolomics in research, biopharma and the clinic. Congratulations to our Discussion Leaders, Don Chace of Medolac Laboratories and Emily Ehrenfeld of New Objective for organizing a wonderful session. Visit the recently updated program agenda to review the line-up of sessions and exciting events at this year's annual meeting!
  • Tuesday, March 14
    • Personalized Metabolism
      • Discussion Leaders: Don Chace, Medolac Laboratories and Emily Ehrenfeld, New Objective
        • Using Proteometabolomics to Examine Mechanisms of Drug Resistance in Multiple Myeloma - John Koomen, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
        • Translational Metabolomics in Biopharma - Michael Reily, Bristol-Myers Squibb
        • Metabolomics in the Clinic: Discriminating Between Research/Development and Application/Service - Don Chace, Medolac Laboratories
Registration
Registration is open! Click on the CPSA Metabolomics 2017 registration link and register today!

Travel & Accommodations
Prepare now for your Travel & Accommodations for CPSA Metabolomics 2017. Make your hotel reservations at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center. Reserve your room on-line or call the hotel directly (352-371-3600).

For more information, visit http://www.cpsa-metabolomics.com.

13-17 Mar 2017
Hands-on LC-MS for Metabolic Phenotyping
Venue: Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, UK

Description:
This week long course aims to cover how to perform a metabolic profiling experiment, from start to finish. It covers study design, sample preparation, the use of mass spectrometry for global profiling and targeted methodologies and data analysis.

It combines lectures and tutorial sessions to ensure a thorough understanding of the theory and practical applications. Topics covered include:
  • Targeted and untargeted sample preparation
  • Targeted and untargeted data analysis
  • Statistics and OPLS
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/imperial-international-phenome-training-centre/courses/hands-on-lc-ms-for-metabolic-profiling/
or contact Dr Liz Want (iptc@imperial.ac.uk) for further information.
19 Apr 2017
Lifetime Exposures and Human Health: The Exposome
Venue: Yale School of Public Health, Winslow Auditorium, LEPH, 60 College Street, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

 Drs. Caroline H. Johnson and Vasilis Vasiliou from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Yale School of Public Health will be hosting a one-day symposium on the Exposome.
 
Speakers include: Dr. Gwen W. Collman (NIEHS), Dr. Dean P. Jones (Emory University), Dr. Chirag J. Patel (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Toby J. Athersuch (Imperial College London) and Dr. David F. Grant (University of Connecticut).
 
Sponsorship from Waters Corporation.
 
For more information and to reserve a seat please visit: http://publichealth.yale.edu/ehs/exposome/
11-13 May 2017
Metabolism in Time and Space: Emerging Links to Cellular and Developmental Programs
Venue: EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

T. Alexandrov, A. Aulehla, P. Dorrestein, O. Leyser, S. McKnight, N. Perrimon

Deadlines
  • Registration - 30 Mar 2017
  • Abstract - 16 Feb 2017

Download Poster

Topics

  • Metabolism in time and space
  • Mechanistic insights - crosstalk metabolism/cellular functions
  • Metabolic control of development
  • Metabolism in growth control
  • Beyond the canonical roles of metabolism

Latest News

  • Registration is now open. Please visit the registration page for more information.
  • Got something to tweet? Say it #EESMetabolism

Stay up to date! Add this event easily to your calendar by downloading the iCal>>     Add to calendar

Why attend?
This symposium focuses on the role of metabolism in controlling cellular and developmental programs in its spatial and temporal complexity. There is a fundamental interest in deciphering the intricate link between metabolism and regulatory cellular programs during cell differentiation and the development of multicellular organisms. Recent technological progress has enabled us to analyse metabolism and metabolic activities with spatio-temporal resolution. This creates unprecedented potential to address how metabolic state impacts on cellular and developmental programs.

Aims
It is the overarching goal of this meeting to enable interdisciplinary discussion on the role of metabolism in controlling cellular and developmental programs in its spatial and temporal complexity. Special focus will be given to discuss emerging imaging or biosensor technologies and bioinformatics and how they can enable addressing fundamental biological questions.

For more information, visit http://www.embo-embl-symposia.org/symposia/2017/EES17-01/index.html

17-18 May 2017
Conference on Food and Nutritional Metabolomics for Health
Venue: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

The purpose of this two-day event is to disseminate state-of-the-art knowledge in the field of food and nutritional metabolomics and foster networking and collaboration among colleagues and industry partners.

For more information please visit: https://discovery.osu.edu/focus-areas/foods-for-health/events/conference-2017.html.
29 May to
2 June 2017
W4E2017 Course: Analyze your LCMS, GCMS and NMR data with Galaxy and the Workflow4Metabolomics e-infrastructure
Venue: Paris, France

W4E2017 Course
The next Workflow4Experimenters international course (W4E2017) will take place in Paris (May 29 to June 2, 2017). During this one-week course (entirely in English), you will learn how to use Galaxy and the W4M infrastructure to analyze your own LC-MS, GC-MS, or NMR data set. Morning sessions will be dedicated to methodology and tools. Afternoon sessions will be devoted to tutoring.

Invited speakers: Tim Ebbels (Imperial College), Steffen Neumann (IPB Halle), and Ralf Weber (Birmingham University).

Registrations: http://workflow4metabolomics.org
Contact: contact@workflow4metabolomics.org
26-29 June 2017
Metabolomics 2017
Venue: Brisbane, Australia
It is our pleasure to invite you to the 13th International Conference of the Metabolomics Society from 25-29th June, 2017 at the Brisbane Conference and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in Brisbane, Australia.

Brisbane is a vibrant, friendly, lifestyle city—home to leading medical research and a thriving industry hub, located in the heart of Australia’s premier tourist region. The BCEC is rated among the top three convention centres in the world, and was the venue of the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit. It is ideally located in the unique riverside cultural and lifestyle precinct at South Bank, which is an inner city oasis with riverfront parkland, rainforest pockets and Australia’s only city-based sand and swimming beach as well as Australia’s newest and largest Gallery of Modern Art, cafes, restaurants and stylish shops.

The conference has the theme of Building Bridges and under this banner extends its reach to the systems biology / genome-scale modelling community, as well as to the analytical chemistry / natural products chemistry community. In addition, the program features thematic streams for advancing the field, for food and environmental metabolomics, and for health and wellness. In addition, a deeper engagement between researchers within the Asia Pacific region is a natural focus for a conference held in Brisbane to promote metabolomics research, build and strengthen networks in the region.

We invite you to attend an exciting scientific program comprising 27 oral sessions, 5 plenaries, 4 poster sessions, sponsored luncheons, as well as several keynote lectures and workshops. We will continue the successful tradition of satellite workshops to the conference in the afternoon of Sunday 25th June and the morning of Monday 26th June. Additionally, we have planned a range of social activities, including a welcome reception, an early-career researcher mixer and a conference dinner in the iconic BCEC Plaza Ballroom to give you a true Aussie-style experience.

Brisbane is the ideal opportunity for delegates to enjoy a microcosm of Australia’s iconic experiences. World heritage listed rainforests, amazing beaches, islands, wineries and the internationally famous Australia Zoo—home of the crocodile hunter—are all easily accessible within an hour of the city. You can even do day trips to the Barrier Reef from Brisbane.

On behalf of the Local Organising Committee and the Metabolomics Society Board we are excited to once again invite you to Metabolomics 2017—we are looking forward to welcoming you down under!

Prof. Melissa Fitzgerald, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences & Dr. Horst Joachim Schirra, Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

For more information, visit http://metabolomics2017.org/.
2-5 Jul 2017
28th Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis Conference (PBA 2017)
Venue: San Pablo CEU University, Madrid, Spain
It is our great pleasure to invite you to the 28th Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis Conference (PBA 2017) that will take place in MADRID at San Pablo CEU University on 2-5 July 2017.

The conference will cover all aspects of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis, with particular emphasis on bringing Pharma industry to meet Academia.
Key representatives in all areas of PHARMA INDUSTRY: R&D and quality control, both for small molecules and biopharmaceuticals will be invited to present their developments and pending challenges. In addition, as would be expected, “omics” methodologies, especially METABOLOMICS, will occupy a special place.

The purpose of PBA 2017 is to bring together people from Industry, Universities, Control Laboratories and Hospitals to discuss the current status of analytical techniques including instrumental applications and theoretical developments. Plenary and Keynote Lectures will be given by internationally recognized invited speakers. An attractive program of social events will also be arranged during the symposium.

For further information, visit https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1890431.
16-21 Jul 2017
2017 UAB Metabolomics Workshop
Venue: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
The 2017 UAB Metabolomics Workshop will be held July 16-21 in Birmingham, Alabama. There will be slots for 40 attendees. We particularly encourage graduate students and postdoctoral and clinical fellows. Those at US universities and institutes may qualify for support from NIH funding. We also encourage applications from all levels of faculty and other research personnel as well as all genders and ethnicities.

The themes in this 5th year of the workshop are:
  1. Design of a metabolomics experiment
  2. Sample stability and extraction methods
  3. Analytical systems (nuclear magnetic resonance and gas- and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry)
    • Targeted metabolomics
    • Untargeted metabolomics
    • Quantitative metabolomics
  4. Pre-processing of analytical data (Mzmine 2 and XCMSonline, and Chenomx)
  5. Statistical analysis of the data (MetaboAnalyst, Simca, SAS)
  6. Metabolite databases (METLIN, HMDB, LIPIDMAPS, PubChem, ChemSpider)
  7. Identification of metabolites (MetaboSearch, MSMS analysis)
  8. Metabolite pathway analysis (Mummichog, KEGG, GeneGo, Ingenuity)
  9. Integrated –omics (MetabNet, 3Omics)
  10. Advanced elective sessions (Imaging mass spectrometry, isotope ratio outlier analysis, Ion mobility, Command line and R programs)
  11. Electives will allow attendees to fine tune their training experience
Those interested in applying should go to http://www.uab.edu/proteomics/metabolomics/workshop/workshop_july_2017.php. Any questions about the workshop should be directed to sbarnes@uab.edu.
25-27 Sep 2017
MOVISS: Bio and Data
Venue: Vorau, Austria
A problem driven meeting aimed at bioinformaticians, biochemists, statisticians and those who handle and interpret metabolomics data
When: Sept 25-27 2017
Where: Vorau, Austria
To register and for more information, go to www.MOVISS.eu, and follow us on Twitter @MOVISSmeet
 
Not just an ordinary conference, where people present work they have already done, MOVISS is centered on identifying and problem solving current challenges relating to metabolomics data handling by getting everyone in the room discussing it. Want to be at the forefront of solving some of the major bottlenecks in the Metabolomics Revolution – see you at MOVISS!
11-13 Dec 2017
MetaboMeeting 2017
Venue: University of Birmingham, UK
Make plans to attend the 10th successful MetaboMeeting conference. The meeting will bring together research scientists and practitioners from all areas of application and development of metabolic profiling, covering a wide range of experience from early career scientists to experts from throughout the international metabolomics field. MetaboMeeting 2017 continues to highlight the work of its attendees through both oral platform presentation and poster sessions.
The deadline for oral presentation abstracts is 15th July 2017.
The deadline for poster abstracts is 1st October 2017.

For further information, visit http://metabomeeting2017.thempf.org/.

Please note: If you know of any metabolomics lectures, meetings, workshops, or training sessions that we should feature in future issues of this newsletter, please email Ian Forsythe (metabolomics.innovation@gmail.com).
Metabolomics Jobs

Metabolomics Jobs

This is a resource for advertising positions in metabolomics. If you have a job you would like posted in this newsletter, please email Ian Forsythe (metabolomics.innovation@gmail.com). Job postings will be carried for a maximum of four issues (eight weeks) unless the position is filled prior to that date.

Jobs Offered

Job Title Employer Location Posted Closes Source
Experimental Officer (NMR Metabolomics) - 47461
University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK
 27-Feb-2017 19-Mar-2017
 University of Birmingham
Experimental Officer in Bioinformatics/Biostatistics - 47322
 University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK 27-Feb-2017 19-Mar-2017 University of Birmingham
One year postdoctoral position in HR-MAS NMR-based metabolomics
CEA-Saclay Gif-sur-Yvette, France 24-Feb-2017
CEA-Saclay
Postdoctoral Position in Metabolomics
 Georgetown University Medical Center Washington, DC, USA
 8-Feb-2017
Georgetown University Medical Center
Bioinformatician
 University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 8-Feb-2017
University of Alberta
Biostatistician University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 8-Feb-2017
University of Alberta
Senior Researcher Position in NMR-Based Metabolomics
Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, USA
 8-Feb-2017
Ohio State University


Jobs Wanted

This section is intended for very highly qualified individuals (e.g., lab managers, professors, directors, executives with extensive experience) who are seeking employment in metabolomics. We encourage these individuals to submit their position requests to Ian Forsythe (metabolomics.innovation@gmail.com). Upon review, a limited number of job submissions will be selected for publication in the Jobs Wanted section.
  • There are currently no positions being advertised.

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