March 28, 2018
11 am to 12 pm EDT

Sponsored by

Webinar Description:

Around 20 years ago, metabolomics technology was struggling to emerge from the concept-stage. Based on the history of biochemistry in the clinic and in mapping many aspects of physiology, metabolomics was expected to provide useful insights, but it was unclear to what extent. Once the technology began to produce accurate and comprehensive data sets, it began to reveal many profound surprises, suggesting a far greater impact than we originally imagined. Chief among these unexpected findings are: 1) the strikingly strong genetic associations of mutations to metabolites, ushering in metabolomics as a key companion for functionally mapping the human genome; 2) that, since a significant fraction of metabolites within the body are produced or influenced by the microbiome, metabolomics is integral for defining how the microbiome influences health; 3) that, through the continuous discovery of new metabolites, a significant amount of new biochemistry is yet to be mapped; and 4) how extensive the breadth of application for the technology is - cosmetics, food products, CAR T cell bioprocess optimization, agricultural seed development, etc. In this webinar, we will provide a retrospective and prospective look at the previous and next two decades of metabolomics technology. We will describe how advances such as artificial intelligence will further catalyze some of the findings from the first two decades as well accelerate new discoveries. Ensuring an ease of access for investigators to rapidly measure thousands of metabolites at the scale of millions of samples, portends to the completion of a functional genetic-phenotype map, routine clinical assessment of the individual, and many new applications - limited only by the imagination.

• Gain an overview of the key historical challenges of metabolomics
• Learn how these challenges were overcome with software and instrumentation
• Obtain an overview of some of the most unexpected findings that the technology enabled
• Get a glimpse into the future of how continued advances in computing and artificial intelligence are anticipated to accelerate numerous areas of life science research and precision medicine

Speaker:

Mike Milburn, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer

Metabolon

Dr. Milburn has served as Chief Scientific Officer since 2005 and is responsible for global metabolomics technology development, laboratory operations, informatics, and data science. Before joining Metabolon, he was Senior Vice President of Research and Corporate Development at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, where he led the preclinical/clinical development of drugs in metabolic disease and neurodegeneration. Prior to Sirtris, Dr. Milburn was Senior Vice President of Research at Plexxikon and was responsible for the development of its proprietary high-throughput, scaffold-based chemical technology platform. He also held various research positions at Glaxo and GlaxoWellcome from 1991 to 2001. Dr. Milburn received his PhD in biophysical chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School.