MetaboNews -- June 2017
MetaboNews Masthead
Published in partnership between
TMIC and the Metabolomics Society
Issue 70 - June 2017

CONTENTS:


Online version of this newsletter:
 http://www.metabonews.ca/Jun2017/MetaboNews_Jun2017.htm
TMIC Services
TMIC Services

Welcome to the seventieth 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 from Nightingale Health Ltd. (Finland) titled "Possibilities of Quantitative Serum NMR Metabolomics in Large-Scale Epidemiology", and a metabolomics interview with Justin van der Hooft of the University of Glasgow.
This issue of MetaboNews is supported by:

Chenomx -- Metabolite Discovery & Measurement
Chenomx Inc.

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Metabolomics Society News

CONFERENCE CORNER 

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

View the Full Conference Agenda
We are proud to now share the full program for Metabolomics 2017. Click here to view it on the conference website. It will be an exciting week of science and networking!

Want to present at Metabolomics 2017?
We are still accepting late-breaking posters to join the conference. You still have a chance to join us and share your work! To submit your abstract, click here.

Announcing Session Keynotes!
The following people had their abstract selected as the keynote presentation of their session. Click here for more details.
Exclusive Offer: See The Royal Ballet in Brisbane
QPAC International Series: The Royal Ballet, Woolf Works (29 June – 2 July), performed at Lyric Theatre, QPAC
The Royal Ballet, one of the greatest ballet companies in the world, returns to Australia for the first time in 15 years, exclusive to Brisbane as a part of QPAC's 2017 International Series. Their first program is Wayne McGregor’s (Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet) award-winning ballet Woolf Works, inspired by three of Virginia Woolf’s landmark novels: Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves, with each of the three acts presented as a series of multi-sensory collages. With ground-breaking choreography, this new ballet reflects Woolf’s modernist rejection of neatly ordered narrative, in favour of heightened, startling poignant perspectives. Woolf Works is set to a new score by acclaimed British composer Max Richter incorporating electronic and orchestral music.

“Exclusive Offer” Details
20% off A-Reserve tickets to see Woolf Works - available across all performances. You need to purchase from this link to access this offer: Woolf Works
https://qpac.com.au/event/rnb_woolf_works_17?special=733c09f5

We look forward to seeing you soon in Brisbane!

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
I’m not sure whether it was the lack of wine near the chair (our last Board of Directors' meeting was at 1pm UK time rather than the more common 10 pm) but we actually kept to time. Our big discussion was the Society journal. As you may know the Society and Springer were unable to reach agreement for continuation of the relationship between the Society and the journal Metabolomics. This has been a painful process as many of us still contribute and enjoy the journal, and indeed the editor in chief of Metabolomics was one of our honorary fellows last year reflecting his long-standing commitment to both the field and to the Society. Since then we have had a few setbacks, which has slowed progress, but I’m happy to report we have at least two proposals on the table and we are currently waiting on at least a third. Publishing is rapidly changing, especially with the advent of open access models and institutional memberships. I think what is heartening is that the offers on the table seem to be much more beneficial to the Society (and members of the society) compared with previous agreements. We ended with plans to hold an email vote of what the Board considers is needed in a journal and then the Publications committee will discuss this further. I hope to have more news soon.

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:
WATCH this space for the EMN reception details being held on Tuesday 27th June at 7pm, 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 continued and in March our speaker was Dr. Stephan Hann from BOKU, Vienna, and his talk was titled “How well do I quantify? Concepts for method validation and evaluation of measurement uncertainty in metabolomics” focused on the quantitation strategies for LC- and GC-based metabolomics. The webinar can be accessed here.

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 only to members of the Metabolomics Society, with the opportunity to revisit live recorded sessions at one's convenience. Make sure to check the Metabolomics Society website, Twitter, and Facebook for updates on the webinar.

Call for nominations for Directors of the Metabolomics Society
In the next few months, the Metabolomics Society will undertake the annual process of nominating and electing new members to serve on the Society’s Board of Directors. We strongly encourage all Society members to play a role in nominations and elections.

Expectations for Directors appointment
The Society is led through the voluntary efforts of the Board of Directors. While this provides motivated individuals a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the activities, communications, and ultimately growth of our metabolomics community, it also requires a time commitment of typically two hours per week. In addition to tasks orchestrated through the monthly Board Meeting, each Director is expected to serve on at least two committees or task groups, and, in many cases, to lead and chair such a group (for the current committees and task groups, see http://metabolomicssociety.org/).

Nominations process
Full details of the nominations process will be made available on the Society’s website in the near future. Please keep in mind that the Society is an international organization involved in a wide range of subjects in the field of metabolomics. Our directors will serve us best if they reflect the diversity of backgrounds, expertise, interests, and geographic distribution of the many individuals who comprise our membership. In brief, (1) all individuals nominated must be current members of the Metabolomics Society, and (2) at least two members of the Society must support the individual’s nomination.

If you wish to nominate an individual to stand for election to the Board of Directors, please fill in the form available at http://goo.gl/forms/8oksEwC4224ZWHGF3. Nominees will be required to provide a short biography and statement of purpose by the end of July.

Please contribute to shaping the future of our Society by voting and playing an active role.


INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATES CORNER

 Australian & New Zealand Metabolomics Network (ANZMN) - Author: Oliver Jones
Visit http://www.anzmn.org

The ANZMN would like to bring the EMBL Australia Bioinformatics Resource (EMBL-ABR) Standards Survey to your attention. As I am sure we are all aware, standards matter and are fundamental across the data life cycle. In fact, in environmental, life, and biomedical sciences, there are several standards across the data cycle, from collection to annotation, preservation, and publication, which also play a vital role in terms of future sharing and reuse, and metabolomics is no different. EMBL-ABR is conducting a survey on standards. Their aim is to direct their efforts and resources for maximum impact for the needs of both the Australian and international research communities when it comes to standards across key areas in bioinformatics including data, tools, workflows, and training. The survey is at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/EMBL-ABRStandards17. There are 14 questions and it should not take more than five to ten minutes to complete. The responses and analysis of the results will be displayed in BioSharing. If you have time, please fill in the survey and pass on to your networks and/or contacts who may find it of use/interest. Also, this is not just limited to ANZMN members and we hope to hear from the wider community too!


 
 Software Spotlight

Metabolomics Spotlight

Possibilities of Quantitative Serum NMR Metabolomics in Large-Scale Epidemiology

 Feature article contributed by Peter Würtz, Antti J Kangas, and Pasi Soininen, Nightingale Health Ltd., Finland

Detailed metabolic profiling of large epidemiological studies has uncovered novel biomarkers for cardiometabolic diseases and clarified the molecular effects of established risk factors. A recently published review in American Journal of Epidemiology features a high-throughput metabolomics platform utilizing NMR spectroscopy. The platform provides quantification of 228 metabolic biomarkers from each blood sample, and it has found widespread use in population health research, including large population-based studies, twin studies, randomized drug trials and other intervention studies, and has already been employed to profile over 500,000 blood samples.

The review covers the overall characteristics of the metabolomics platform, which is now commercialized by Nightingale Health (formerly known as Brainshake Ltd.). The applications of the technology for analysing the circulating lipids and metabolites in large-scale epidemiological studies, and meta-analyses of independent cohorts, is described. Furthermore, the review provides reflections on study design and statistical analyses based on lessons learned from various applications of metabolic profiling in large cohort studies. The quantitative metabolite data can be analysed with the same statistical methods as for routine clinical chemistry assays. The technology allows traditional hypothesis-driven approaches as well as data-driven research, which augments the potential for unanticipated novel discoveries.

The AJE review highlights primary research applications for the metabolic profiling platform. It describes how comprehensive metabolic profiling can broaden our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms and potential side-effects of various drug interventions (J Am Coll Cardiol 2016;67:1200-10). This may enhance drug development by helping to prioritize drug targets to be moved forward to clinical trials. Another example features metabolic signatures of adiposity, describing how large cohorts with genomic data in addition to metabolomics data enable Mendelian randomization to assess causal effects of obesity across a wide range of metabolic measures (PLOS Med 2014; 11(12):e1001765). The study also illustrates how the comprehensive metabolic signature of obesity tracks with weight loss and weight gain over long time periods, and shows how to combine the metabolite data with traditional risk markers.

Although large-scale applications of metabolic profiling are still novel, the examples suggest that comprehensive biomarker data in large cohorts is a powerful tool to improve the molecular understanding of risk factors and interventions. Other applications of the high-throughput NMR metabolomics platform include biomarker discovery and improved disease risk prediction, with the potential to translate into multiple clinical settings.

Platform set up at the NDPH Wolfson Laboratory at the University of Oxford

To pursue the above objectives, further epidemiological and clinical applications will also be explored by the NDPH Wolfson Laboratory at the University of Oxford, where the Quantitative Serum NMR Metabolomics platform has recently been installed.

At NDPH, the platform will be used for biomarker profiling of various large epidemiological studies and clinical trials such as the China Kadoorie Biobank. The goal is to analyze hundreds of thousands of samples in only a couple of years. As the platform becomes established, it may be utilized to replace many current clinical chemistry assays, such as the routine cholesterol panel, enabling rapid biomarker analysis of blood samples and providing cost-saving opportunities in research.

The NMR metabolomics platform commercialized by Nightingale Health Ltd.

Figure 1. The NMR metabolomics platform commercialized by Nightingale Health Ltd. quantifies 228 metabolic biomarkers for each sample.


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 Justin van der Hooft.
Justin van der Hooft

 Postdoctoral Researcher, Glasgow Polyomics, University of Glasgow, UK


Justin van der Hooft
Biography

Justin performed his studies in Molecular Sciences and his PhD in Systematic Metabolite Identification and Annotation at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. He gained skills and hands-on experience in different aspects of the metabolomics pipeline, knowledge in plant polyphenol production, and analysis and the human metabolism of ingested polyphenols. Justin then moved to Glasgow, where he investigated the fate of (-)-epicatechin in human and rat using radioactivity monitoring, mass spectrometry, and NMR-based approaches in Prof. Alan Crozier’s lab. Justin then started to work for Glasgow Polyomics, where he obtained an ISSF Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust to work on method development and implementation of fragmentation approaches to enhance the metabolite annotation capacities of the high-resolution LC-MS systems. This fellowship resulted in three first-author papers, one of which describes the implementation of Molecular Networking (http://gnps.ucsd.edu/) to perform drug and drug metabolite screening in urine extracts, and a recent PNAS paper that introduces the use of topic modelling for unsupervised substructure discovery in metabolomics data (http://ms2lda.org/).

Justin has been an active member of the Metabolomics Society for several years. He was part of the founding Early-Career Members Network (EMN) committee and chaired the committee in the lead-up to Metabolomics2016 in Dublin. Recently, Justin joined the Board of Directors. He is part of the Strategy Task Group and the Metabolite Identification Task Group, something that is close to his heart.

Metabolomics Interview (MN, MetaboNews; JVDH, Justin van der Hooft)

 MN: How did you get involved in metabolomics?

JVDH: During my PhD I was tasked with setting up mass spectrometry (MS) fragmentation methods and hyphenated MS and NMR methods to study metabolites in tomato, tea, and urine of tea-drinkers. As these analytical techniques are the cornerstones of the metabolomics field, it was just a matter of time before I started to read metabolomics-related papers. I got the opportunity to present a poster in Edmonton (Canada) during Metabolomics2009 meeting and the Metabolomics2010 meeting took place in Amsterdam (The Netherlands, at the time, 'on my doorstep') providing opportunities to strengthen my links with the metabolomics community.

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

JVDH: It fascinates me to see how a complex molecular mixture decomposes into its functional building blocks and how these are related to each other. In Figure 1 below, we can see molecular features related to benzenesulfonamide (a drug motif) found in a urine sample by co-occurrence of fragments and losses. All related metabolites are now grouped which facilitates metabolite annotations. This motif can be used on any sample to search for the presence of sulfonamide-based drug metabolites. The more functional building blocks the field will discover, the better we can understand complex molecular mixtures! We are currently working on ways to guide researchers towards the most interesting and relevant substructures (Mass2Motifs) in their experiment.

Click on the thumbnail below to view a larger version of the image

Highlighted in blue are molecules in a urine sample related to the sulphanilamide motif

Figure 1. Highlighted in blue are molecules in a urine sample related to the sulphanilamide (benzenesulfonamide) motif, present in antibacterial drugs. Two fragmented molecules are displayed on the right, with key co-occurring fragments discovered by MS2LDA highlighted in red and displayed in the histogram below that indicates how often each fragment or loss is occurring in the spectra of fragmented molecules.

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

 JVDH: Over the last few years, I have been driving implementation and development of metabolome mining strategies based on mass spectrometry fragmentation data. First, I optimized data acquisition methods to ensure a large coverage of unique fragmented molecules and collection of information-rich MS/MS spectra. Then, I used metabolome mining strategies, molecular networking, and MS2LDA, to discover metabolite families in beer, microbial, and urine samples.

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

JVDH: In the UK, where I currently work, there are quite a few strong metabolomics centres with Birmingham expanding rapidly over the last few years. Glasgow Polyomics has been offering untargeted metabolomics analyses for over six years. Moreover, the Scottish Metabolomics Network (http://scottishmetabolomics.net/) will unite the Scottish efforts to progress the metabolomics field. In my home country, The Netherlands, the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre (NMC, http://www.metabolomicscentre.nl/) boosted metabolomics research across the country with several local centres still being very active these days.

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

 JVDH: Tools like MS2LDA are versatile and useful in a variety of fields: for example, drug screening and monitoring in urine or stool samples (see the example in the figure above), discovery of specialized metabolites in microbes and plants, or, more in general, the substructure-based characterization of a sample’s chemical space. Also, I am glad to see that researchers are finding their way to the tables of annotated metabolites published alongside my papers. However, I hope to see more streamlined solutions to share such annotations in a more sustainable, findable, accurate (how to describe partly annotated metabolites correctly), machine-readable, and explorable manner. GNPS (http://gnps.ucsd.edu/) is an excellent example of a 'living tool' that enables sharing of annotations between data sets.

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

JVDH: The enormous chemical diversity that metabolomics tools can capture is the greatest strength of the field for me. It makes it possible to measure the metabolic composition of any sample with just a little bias. However, this also neatly introduces the next largest challenge in metabolomics research.

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

JVDH: Given my career focus, it will not come as a surprise that I mention metabolite identification and annotation here. Whilst estimates vary, it is quite clear from most untargeted metabolomics studies that we can only robustly assign a chemical structure to a few percent of the observed metabolites. I am amazed by the variety of metabolites in the urine metabolome; here, I expect that currently available and novel MS/MS-based metabolome mining strategies will aid in further characterization and focus on the relevant metabolite features. There are other barriers facing us now as well: how to handle the ever-increasing amounts of data coming off ever-improving machines. And how to report all the steps involved in the data processing and handling in such a way that other researchers can repeat it.
 
MN: What improvements, technological or otherwise, need to take place for metabolomics to really take off? 

JVDH: We are witnessing an enormous growth in available tools to handle large-scale metabolomics analyses and in-silico metabolite annotations. To really take off, tools should be modular and facilitate re-analysis of processed data as many tools provide complementary information. In untargeted metabolomics, the transformation of an acquired LC-MS/MS chromatogram into a metabolite table with associated fragmentation spectra still consists of several challenging steps dealt with in different ways by currently available tools. Further unification in open data formats and tool inter-operability would benefit the entire community. Data standards and data sharing I discuss below in this interview.

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

JVDH: With the ever-evolving mass spectrometers and NMR equipment, we can expect a growing market share for metabolomics if the field follows the genomics field in terms of data handling and sharing. Tools will become more user-friendly so that, whilst monitoring the analytical chemistry, more focus can be laid on the biochemical interpretation of metabolomics studies. I expect that this will have a beneficial effect on funding for studies that include metabolomics analyses. 

MN: What role can metabolomics standards play?

JVDH: Standardization is a very important aspect and I am still glad that a constructive reviewer pointed me to the Metabolomics Standards Initiative papers early in my PhD. Reviewers and editors play a vital role in ensuring standards are used in published data sets and papers. Currently, we are working with the Metabolite Identification Task Group of the Metabolomics Society on a revamp of the metabolite identification levels to further encourage their use by the community.

MN: Do you have any other comments that you wish to share about metabolomics?

JVDH: I really like the fact that metabolomics encompasses a wide range of disciplines as I really enjoy brainstorming ideas with scientists from different backgrounds as it keeps one's mind open for novel ideas. Finally, to become part of ‘systems biology’, data sharing should become common practice for metabolomics labs, with several dedicated repositories like GNPS and MetaboLights available now. With the increasingly available data sets, I foresee exciting challenges and results ahead!


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
8 June 2017
Metabolomics in Personalized Medicine Workshop
Venue: 18th floor of Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Ave, Toronto, ON (room number to be finalized closer to the date of the workshop)
Biocrates and The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC) of the University of Alberta are partnering to bring you an upcoming workshop, Metabolomics in Personalized Medicine: From Theory to Practice, to be held in Toronto on June 8th, 2017. The one-day workshop is being sponsored by Biocrates and organized by TMIC head Dr. David Wishart, and will feature several presenters from diverse disciplines.

Download Agenda

The workshop will be held on the 18th floor of Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Ave, Toronto, ON. (Room number to be finalized closer to the date of the workshop.)

To register for the free workshop, please email register@mpm2017.ca and include your name, affiliation, and areas of research interest.
12-14 June 2017
Metabolomics with the Q Exactive
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This three-day course will introduce you to using the Q Exactive mass spectrometer in your metabolomics investigations. The course is aimed at students and researchers with minimal previous experience of applying LC-MS in metabolomics. The course will be led by experts in the field and include lectures, laboratory sessions and computer workshops to provide:
  • An introduction to metabolomics and using the Q Exactive mass spectrometer in your studies
  • Polar and non-polar sample preparation for profiling and targeted studies
  • Data acquisition for profiling and targeted studies
  • Data processing and data analysis
  • Introduction to metabolite identification
The course will finish with a question and answer session with a panel of experts.

Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registration details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/q-exactive.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
14 June 2017
Agilent Webinar: Accelerated Data Workflows for Biomarker Discovery in Metabolomics: Clinical Research Applications in Cystic Fibrosis Research
Venue: Your desktop
Times: This event will be presented live for U.S. and European time zones:
9:00 a.m. EST / 6:00 a.m. PST / 13:00 GMT / 15:00 CET
Comprehensive metabolite profiling (i.e., metabolomics) offers a holistic approach for understanding the phenotype of an organism on a molecular level that is closely associated with clinical research outcomes. However, low sample throughput and complicated data processing remain major bottlenecks to biomarker discovery in clinical-based metabolomics research. An introduction to multisegment injection-capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (MSI-CE-MS) will first be presented as a multiplexed separation platform that takes advantage of customized serial injections to enhance sample throughput and data fidelity with quality assurance. Various sample injection formats can be designed to encode MS information temporally when using signal pattern recognition for unambiguous biomarker identification when analyzing volume-restricted biological samples, including dried blood spot extracts and sweat specimens. Structural elucidation of unknown metabolites can be deduced with greater confidence when using high resolution tandem MS experiments in conjunction with CE-based mobility theory.  Recent progress towards characterization of the sweat metabolome of screen-positive cystic fibrosis infants, as well as identification of new markers of CF in asymptomatic neonates will be discussed in support of universal newborn screening programs. MSI-CE-MS offers a cost-effective approach for greatly expanding the productivity of MS-based chemical analyses while offering an accelerating data workflow for biomarker discovery in metabolomics.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Learning Objectives:
  • What is metabolomics?: Non-targeted metabolite profiling for discovery-based research in clinical medicine
  • What is in human sweat?: Using CE-MS-based metabolomics for comprehensive characterization of volume-restricted biospecimens
  • Beyond sweat chloride: How can sweat biomarkers improve diagnostic testing and/or treatment monitoring of cystic fibrosis patients?
For more information, please visit https://www.labroots.com/ms/webinar/accelerated-data-workflows-biomarker-discovery-metabolomics-clinical-research-applications-c or download the webinar flyer.
20-23 June 2017
Hands-on Data Analysis for Metabolic Profiling
Venue: Imperial International Phenome Training Centre, Imperial College London, London, UK
This 4 day course provides a comprehensive overview of data analysis for metabolic profiling studies with data acquired from NMR spectroscopy and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. It combines lectures and tutorial sessions to ensure a thorough understanding of the theory and practical applications.
  • Day 1: Introductory lectures and tutorials regarding the pre-processing of data acquired via NMR and LC-MS.
  • Day 2: Lectures and tutorials introducing exploratory chemometrics approaches, including PCA.
  • Day 3: Lectures and tutorials covering advanced chemometrics techniques including PLS and Orthogonal PLS.
  • Day 4: The next step - computational tools to aid metabolite identification and pathway analysis.
This course has been approved by the Royal Society of Chemistry. This event has been awarded 20 CPD credits by the Royal Society of Medicine in accordance with its current guidelines.

For more information, visit http://www.imperial.ac.uk/imperial-international-phenome-training-centre/courses/hands-on-data-analysis-for-metabolic-profiling/
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.

As part of the Metabolomics 2017 conference, the Australia & New Zealand Metabolomics Network (ANZMET) has been organizing the ANZMET workshop. As part of the workshop, they aim to publish papers that arise from the discussions (similar to the ANZMET conference) in the Metabolites journal.

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.
21 Jul 2017
Introduction to Metabolomics for the Clinical Scientist
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This one-day course in partnership with the Phenome Centre Birmingham will provide clinicians with an overview of the metabolomics pipeline, highlighting the benefits of the technique to the medical field. The course will provide an:
  • Introduction to experimental design and sample collection
  • An overview of both the analytical and computational methods applied in the field
  • Case studies and panel discussions with the experts
Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registrations details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/introduction-metabolomics.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
11-15 Sep 2017
School on "Cloud-based Metabolomics Data Analysis and Collaboration"
Venue: Building 2 of the Technology Park of Sardinia Pula, Sardinia, Italy
Metabolomics is a well established -omics science whose growth is bringing about new challenges. Systematic studies and integration with other data sources are resulting in ever larger dataset sizes; production applications require superior computational scalability of analysis techniques; complex, multi-step workflows make study reproducibility more challenging.

At the same time, cloud computing technologies are extending their functionality and provide practical solutions for many of these problems.

In this School students will have the opportunity to learn about current topics in metabolomics, with a slant on the integration of cloud computing technologies where they are beneficial to the effectiveness and efficiency of research and analysis work. Top-level lecturers in the field will provide their insight and will be available for the entire duration of the school, with ample opportunity for interaction with the students. Importantly, the School will also include practical sessions where students can put their new knowledge into practice under the guidance of tutors and run analyses using the new PhenoMeNal cloud-based metabolomics platform.

For more information, visit http://cloudmet2017.crs4.it/.
20-23 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 20-23, 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!

A follow up R Summer School will be held on September 25-27, 2017 in Vorau, Austria.
12-13 Oct 2017
Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Metabolomics
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This two-day course will provide a comprehensive overview of the application of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) in metabolic phenotyping. The course is aimed at students and researchers who are actively working in the field. Experts who have developed the application of QA and QC procedures within the field will lead the course. It will include both theoretical and practical components to:
  • Introduce QA and QC in metabolic phenotyping
  • The application of QA and QC in untargeted and targeted studies
  • Preparation of QCs and data acquisition
  • Data processing and reporting standards
The course will finish with a question and answer session with a panel of experts.

Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registration details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/quality-phenotyping.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
12-13 Oct 2017
Mayo Clinic Metabolomics Symposium
Venue: Leighton Auditorium, Siebens Building, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
Mayo Clinic will host a Metabolomics Symposium from October 12 to October 13 on the Rochester, Minn., campus. The event will feature presentations on the practice and theory of metabolomics applications, the latest research in metabolomics and networking opportunities. The workshop is open to beginning and established researchers, students and postdoctoral fellows.

A focused workshop is available to a limited group of individuals based on availability.

Scholarships for scholars and junior faculty are available.

For more information, please visit http://matrix.conferenceataclick.com/metabolomics_2017/home_live1.htm.
6-8 Nov 2017
Metabolomics with the Q Exactive
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This three-day course will introduce you to using the Q Exactive mass spectrometer in your metabolomics investigations. The course is aimed at students and researchers with minimal previous experience of applying LC-MS in metabolomics. The course will be led by experts in the field and include lectures, laboratory sessions and computer workshops to provide:
  • An introduction to metabolomics and using the Q Exactive mass spectrometer in your studies
  • Polar and non-polar sample preparation for profiling and targeted studies
  • Data acquisition for profiling and targeted studies
  • Data processing and data analysis
  • Introduction to metabolite identification
The course will finish with a question and answer session with a panel of experts.

Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registration details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/q-exactive.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
1 Dec 2017
Introduction to Metabolomics for the Clinical Scientist
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This one-day course in partnership with the Phenome Centre Birmingham will provide clinicians with an overview of the metabolomics pipeline, highlighting the benefits of the technique to the medical field. The course will provide an:
  • Introduction to experimental design and sample collection
  • An overview of both the analytical and computational methods applied in the field
  • Case studies and panel discussions with the experts
Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registrations details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/introduction-metabolomics.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
6-8 Dec 2017
Multiple biofluid and tissue types, from sample preparation to analysis strategies for metabolomics
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This 3-day course will provide a comprehensive overview of dealing with complex biological samples for LC-MS analysis. The course is targeted towards students and researchers who are actively applying metabolomics in their research. The course will be led by experts in the field and include:
  • An overview of quenching and extraction strategies for different biological samples
  • Hands-on sample preparation using different sample types
  • Hands-on HILIC and reversed phase LC-MS data acquisition
  • Solid phase extraction clean up methods
  • An overview of data analysis and metabolite identification
  • An opportunity to ask questions and seek advice to prepare samples in your own research
Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registration details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/sample-analysis.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
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/.
14-15 Dec 2017
Metabolite identification with the Q Exactive and LTQ Orbitrap
Venue: Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
This two-day course will provide a hands-on approach to teach the latest techniques and tools available to perform metabolite identification. We will apply these tools on the Q Exactive and LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometry family. The course is targeted towards students and researchers who are actively applying metabolomics.

The course will be led by experts in the field and include significant hands-on experience using both the Q Exactive and LTQ Orbitrap instruments to perform:
  • Data dependent acquisition
  • Data independent acquisition
  • MS/MS and MSn data acquisition
The course will finish with a session on the tips and tricks from the experts and an opportunity to ask questions.

Bursaries are now available for PhD students funded by the BBSRC, MRC, or NERC.

For further information and registration details, please visit http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/metabolomics-training-centre/courses/metabolite-identification.aspx or contact bmtc@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

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
Research Fellow in Mass Spectrometry Metabolomics (55220)
University of Birmingham, School of Biosciences Birmingham, UK 1-Jun-2017 11-Jun-2017
University of Birmingham
Bioinformatician
 Berlin Institute for Health/Max Delbrück Center
 Berlin, Germany
 28-May-2017
 11-Jun-2017 Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin
Postdoctoral position in clinical metabolomics
University of Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland
 24-May-2017 12-Jun-2017
 University of Lausanne
Principal Investigator – Systems Medicine – Metabolomics Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Gentofte, Denmark 19-May-2017 20-Jun-2017
 Steno Diabetes Center


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.

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