The Metabolomist podcast

The Metabolomist podcast

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The Metabolomist podcast episodes

  • Standards for biomarker development and translational tools | Ewy Mathé

    Ewy Mathé

    She is the Director of Informatics in the Division of Preclinical Innovation at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)](https://ncats.nih.gov)), NIH, where she leads a highly creative and motivated team working to combine metabolomics, multi-omics and data science for translational research. Dr. Mathé and her team regularly release bioinformatics tools and guidance that support the scientific community in processing and integrating data for translational applications, including for drug repurposing](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajmg.c.32153)), [rare disease] research (https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article/31/1/154/7284356?utm_source=chatgpt.com)), and multiomics integration](https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/10/5/202?utm_source=chatgpt.com)). Projects discussed in this episode include the NCATS Biomedical Data Translator](https://ncats.nih.gov/research/research-activities/informatics/translational-data-analytics)) aimed at the integration of medical and biological data. Dr. Mathé is also the current President of the Metabolomics Association of North America (https://www.metabolomicsna.org/interest-groups-mana)) and a contributor to the Dagstuhl seminar 26181](https://www.dagstuhl.de/seminars/seminar-calendar/seminar-details/26181)) on computational metabolomics.

    Favorite metabolite

    Creatine riboside](https://hmdb.ca/metabolites/HMDB0240254)), a metabolite of creatine from cancer cell metabolism.

    Papers discussed in this episode

    Mathé et al. 2014 Cancer Research | Noninvasive Urinary Metabolomic Profiling Identifies Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Lung Cancer
    ](https://aacrjournals.org/cancerres/article/74/12/3259/592715/Noninvasive-Urinary-Metabolomic-Profiling?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
    )

    Mathé et al. 2026 Current Opinion in Biotechnology | Computational metabolomics at scale: from open data to insight
    ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0958166926001229?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
    )

    Complement this episode with the perspectives of Julie Courraud on clinical metabolomics and study design](https://themetabolomist.com/clinical-metabolomics/)) and Justin van der Hooft on computational metabolomics and community-driven tools](https://themetabolomist.com/computational-metabolomics-community-driven-tools/)).

    51 min
  • Robust experimental designs & global communities | Vinicius Verri Hernandes

    Vinicius Verri Hernandes

    He is a Senior Scientist at The Global Exposomics & Biomonitoring Laboratory](https://exposomics.univie.ac.at/team/)) at the University of Vienna, Austria. Community-driven projects discussed in this episode include the exposome spectral library ExpoLib](https://zenodo.org/records/20715576)), the Cooperative Health Research in South Tyrol study and the CHRIS portal](https://chrisportal.eurac.edu/chris-study)), the European infrastructure for human exposome (EIRENE)](https://eirene.eu/)) and its Austrian node Exposome Austria](https://exposome.at/)), the IHEN ambassador](https://humanexposome.net/news/global-ambassadors-trained-exposome-research/)) network and of course the soon-to-be Brazilian metabolomics community currently growing on the Portal Metabolômica Brasil](https://www.portalmetabobr.com.br/en)) and its Youtube channel with metabolomics resources in Portuguese.
    ](mailto:https://www.youtube.com/@portalmetabolomicabrasil).
    )

    Favorite metabolite

    Cotinine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotinine)), a product of nicotine metabolism that tells a lot about our lifestyle.

    Papers discussed in this episode

    Verri Hernandes, Dordevic, Hantikainen et al. 2022 Metabolites | Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, Diet and Menopause Related Metabolites in a Large Homogeneous Alpine Cohort
    ](https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/12/3/205)
    )
    Verri Hernandes et al. 2025 Environment International | Dried blood spots analysis for targeted and non-targeted exposomics](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025005653))

    Complement this episode with Alice’s perspective on the role of industry in the exposome community at the latest Global Exposome Forum](https://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=066d5d7abe2de2d5e04d214bf&id=7e840f7434)) Virtual Townhall panel discussion. To learn more about the relevance of dried blood spots, revisit our episodes on clinical metabolomics with Julie Courraud](https://themetabolomist.com/clinical-metabolomics/)) and physical markers of mental illness with Sabine Bahn.
    ](https://themetabolomist.com/physical-markers-treatment-of-mental-illness/).
    )

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    55 min
  • Data quality & enabling research | Matthew Lewis

    Matthew Lewis

    He is Vice President for Metabolomics & Lipidomics at Bruker, where he leads a team working on the development of solutions for small molecule bioanalysis. Matt also served as Chief Operations Officer at the National Phenome Center in the UK and has been a member of metabolomics quality assurance and quality control consortium (mQACC).

    Favorite metabolite

    Cystine
    The disulfide derived from the amino acid cysteine, but also a biomarker for one of the first inborn errors of metabolism described. Learn more in the episode!

    Papers discussed in the episode

    Lewis et al. 2022 Chemrxiv pre-print | An Open Platform for Large Scale LC-MS-Based Metabolomics
    Sands et al. 2021 Anal Chem | Representing the Metabolome with High Fidelity: Range and Response as Quality Control Factors in LC-MS-Based Global Profiling

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    43 min
  • Computational metabolomics & community-driven tools | Justin van der Hooft

    Justin van der Hooft

    He is Assistant Professor at Wageningen University, where he leads a team working on computational metabolomics.
    Communities mentioned in this episode include the Early-Career Members Network (EMN)](https://metabolomicssociety.org/membership/early-career-members-network/)) of the Metabolomics society and their webinar series](https://metabolomicssociety.org/resources/multimedia/emn-webinars-2025/)), the Benelux metabolomics community and their Benelux Metabolomics Days](https://www.aanmelder.nl/beneluxmetabolomicsdays2026)), and the Dagstuhl seminar 26181](https://www.dagstuhl.de/en/seminars/seminar-calendar/seminar-details/26181)) on computational metabolomics.

    Favorite metabolite

    Geosmin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin))
    The metabolite responsible for the earthy smell after rain, produced by bacteria, in particular Streptomyces. Learn more in the episode!

    Papers discussed in the episode

    van der Hooft et al. 2016 PNAS | [Topic modeling for untargeted substructure exploration in metabolomics]. (https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.1608041113))
    Torres Ortega et al. 2025 bioRxiv | Large Scale Discovery and Annotation of Hidden Substructure Patterns in Mass Spectrometry Profilesand](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.19.659491v2)and) the MS2LDA tool.
    ](https://www.ms2lda.org/).
    )

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    54 min
  • Citizen science & the vaginal microbiome | Caroline Dricot

    Caroline Dricot

    Researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where she contributed to the ISALA project a pioneering citizen-science project that became the largest study on the vaginal microbiome in the world with sister projects in as many as 20 countries along with significant international recognition.

    Favorite metabolite

    Riboflavin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin))
    Also known also as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in energy metabolism, cellular respiration, and antibody production, as well as normal growth and development.

    Paper discussed in the episode

    Dricot et al. 2025 pre-print bioRxiv | Vitamin B2 Production by Vaginal Lactobacilli Promotes Symbiosis](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.684342v1))

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    44 min
  • Birth cohorts & early-life exposome readouts | Lea Maitre

    Léa Maitre

    Assistant Research Professor at ISGlobal](https://www.isglobal.org/en/our-team/-/profiles/18762)), the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, and coordinates the Exposome Hub](https://www.isglobal.org/en/exposome-hub)) initiative, promoting innovation, collaboration and communication about exposomics.

    Favorite metabolite

    Neurosteroids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurosteroid))
    Neurosteroids, also known as neuroactive steroids, are endogenous or exogenous steroids that rapidly alter neuronal excitability through interaction with ligand-gated ion channels and other cell surface receptors.

    Paper discussed in the episode

    Multi-omics signatures of the human early life exposome](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34422-2))
    Léa Maitre, Mariona Bustamante et al. 2022 Nature Communications
    The work presented in this publication was part of the HELIX project](https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/helix-the-human-early-life-exposome-novel-tools-for-integrating-early-life-environmental-exposures-and-child-health-across-europe)), coordinated by Martine Vrijheid from 2013 to 2017.

    Initiatives discussed in this episode

    IHEN](https://humanexposome.net/)) – The International Human Exposome Network.
    Learn more about IHEN’s exposome ambassadors](https://humanexposome.net/news/global-ambassadors-trained-exposome-research/)) and about IHEN’s cohort catalogue.
    Global Exposome Summit](https://www.globalexposomesummit.org/)) – Event taking place on April 27-29, 2026 in Sitges, Spain and dedicated to fostering international collaborations in exposomics. Organized by IHEN and the Global Exposome Forum.
    ](https://globalexposomeforum.org/).
    )

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    43 min
  • Building community & navigating publishing | María Eugenia Monge

    María Eugenia Monge

    She is an Independent Researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina CONICET](https://cibion.conicet.gov.ar/ms/)).
    She is a founding member of the Latin American Metabolic Profiling Society LAMPS](https://jwist.github.io/lamps/)) and a member of the Metabolomics Quality Assurance and Quality Control Consortium mQACC](https://www.mqacc.org/)).

    Favorite metabolite

    Glucose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose))
    It is the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is made from water and carbon dioxide during photosynthesis by plants and most algae. Learn more in the episode!

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    45 min
  • Democratizing healthcare & participatory medicine | Anne Bendt

    Anne Bendt

    Deputy Director](https://www.lsi.nus.edu.sg/corp/principal-investigators-4/dr-anne-k-bendt/)) and Principal Investigator at Singapore Lipidomics Incubator SLING](https://www.sling.sg/)), Life Sciences Institute in Singapore.

    Favorite metabolite

    Tuberculostearic acid](https://www.hmdb.ca/metabolites/HMDB0004085))
    A long-chain fatty acid produced by the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, and investigated as a potential diagnostic biomarker of the disease and drug target. Learn more about tuberculostearic acid in the episode!

    Papers discussed

    On clinical metabolomics | Fux et al. 2024 A global perspective on the status of clinical metabolomics in laboratory medicine - a survey by the IFCC metabolomics working group](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/cclm-2024-0550/html)) Clin Chem Lab Med.

    On PFAS and lipidomics | Narasimhan et al. 2024 Integrated analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and plasma lipidomics profiles in multi-ethnic Asian subjects for exposome research](https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-024-01145-4)) Environmental Health

    Additional resources

    Learn more about the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) Metabolomics working group](https://ifcc.org/ifcc-emerging-technologies-division/etd-working-groups/wg-m/)) and the International Lipidomics Society (ILS)-driven ceramides ring trial | Torte et al. 2024 Concordant inter-laboratory derived concentrations of ceramides in human plasma reference materials via authentic standards](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52087-x)) Nature Communications

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    59 min
  • Favorite metabolites of Metabolomist listeners | Metabolomics 2025 feature

    Across these recordings, you will hear about the small molecules and lipids that make the hearts of ten Metabolomists beat for their research. A big thank you to all the contributors! Make sure to let them know that you share their passion for their favorite metabolite by connecting with them through the links below.

    Metabolomist´s favorite metabolites

    A great thank you to all contributors, namely

    IDomenica Berardi

    Paula Darwin

    Hagen Gegner

    Alena Langová

    Malena Manzi

    Federico Padilla

    Elliot James Price

    Silvia Radenkovic

    Laura Rosina Torres Ortega

    Thi Tran Ngoc Minh

    12 min
  • Exposomics & 5P medicine | Gary Miller

    Gary Miller, PhD is Professor of Environmental Health Sciences (in Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics) and Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation at Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, USA

    Favorite metabolite

    3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL)
    A toxic intermediate in the metabolism of dopamine linked to the damage to dopamine neurons in Parkinson’s disease.

    Paper discussed in the episode

    Zhao et al. Neurology 2024 | Association of Coffee Consumption and Prediagnostic Caffeine Metabolites With Incident Parkinson Disease in a Population-Based Cohort

    Learn more about the outcomes of the Banbury conference on exposome in the Science paper, including the newly unified definition of the exposome.

    Read the Washington Declaration established and signed at the Exposome Moonshot forum in May 2025, a few days after recording the episode. Follow the progress of the Exposome Moonshot.

    Sign up for The Metabolomist mailing list to be the first to hear about the latest episodes and news around metabolomics at https://themetabolomist.com

    Finally available – Alice’s book on metabolomics data interpretation

    The STORY principle – A guide to the biological interpretation of metabolomics

    43 min

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In this interview podcast you can learn how scientists and entrepreneurs create the future of metabolomics. Learn about their struggles, stresses and successes to shape the story of metabolomics as it…