Photo: Rebecca Forsberg
On 28-29 of January, over 30 researchers from the Metabolomics Platform and Swedish NMR center met in Umeå. During the lunch-to-lunch retreat, they brainstormed ideas for the future and launched their new initiative that will help find the needle in the haystack of metabolomic data: the Computational Metabolomics Group.
Every year, the Metabolomics platform at SciLifeLab, which SMC is a unit in, meets to share last year's success, gain a clear view of the platform’s scientific standing and brainstorm ideas for the future. The metabolomics platform consists of three units: SMC, CMSI at Chalmers University of Technology and the National Facility for Exposomics at Stockholm University, all with their unique expertise and strengths.
“We want to find new ways in which we can exchange our knowledge and skills, for instance, by enabling staff scientists to spend more time at the other units”, says Annika Johansson, Coordination Officer of the platform and Head of Unit of SMC who hosted the retreat.
This year the Swedish NMR Centre, which also offers metabolomics services, was also invited to participate in the retreat. “By learning more about our respective techniques, discussing future technology development and how to overcome common obstacles, we hope to offer better services for the Swedish research community”, says Annika Johansson.
At the retreat, the platform also initiated a new group that will support users in handling and analyzing metabolomic data: the Computational Metabolomics Group. The group is a joint effort between the Metabolomics platform and the National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (NBIS).
“We are very excited about this group that will provide support to our users in translating the numbers in Excel sheets into meaningful biological and chemical interpretations", says Annika Johansson.
The group is led by Associate Professor Carl Brunius at CMSI and Katie Bennett, research coordinator at the Computational Analytics Support Platform (CASP).
“Metabolomics is essential for understanding a variety of biological processes, from plants to human health, but studying metabolites together presents the challenge of handling massive datasets. Finding the right information can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. With the Computational Metabolomics Group, we hope to help users sift through the data”, says Katie Bennett.
The Metabolomics Platform consists of three units
Swedish Metabolomics Centre (SMC) at Umeå University and SLU.
Chalmers Mass Spectrometry Infrastructure (CMSI) at Chalmers University of Technology.
National Facility for Exposomics at Stockholm University.
Invited to the retreat was also
Swedish NMR Centre, situated at Umeå University and University of Gothenburg, and members from the National Bioinformatics Infrastructure (NBIS) involved in the Metabolomics platform.