Nutrition and Metabolism - Biomarkers Group
- To conduct laboratory studies using the most advanced analytical techniques to identify, validate, and implement biomarkers of exposure in cohort and intervention studies.
- To investigate in population-based studies in different geographical areas, including low- and middle-income countries, the relationships between these biomarkers and cancer outcomes or intermediate end-points.
Specific and highly sensitive methods, including gas and liquid chromatography, high- and low-resolution mass spectrometry, and immunoassays, are implemented to identify and estimate biomarkers of exposures in blood or urine samples. Both untargeted and targeted metabolomic approaches are used. Targeted compounds analysed include various food constituents, such as fatty acids, polyphenols, and food contaminants, as well as many endogenous metabolites, including hormones (sex hormones, growth factors, insulin, thyroid hormones), cytokines, and a large variety of endogenous metabolites (amino acids, lipids, acylcarnitines, biliary acids). For untargeted metabolomics, novel analytical and bioinformatic workflows are used to profile thousands of compounds in blood or urine.