Overview

Following the eras of genomics and proteomics, we enter to that of metabolomics - the analysis of the thousands of small molecules that are the product of complex chemical reactions and are involved in various aspects of physiological activities. The main notion behind the metabolomics-based drug discovery is the comprehensive analysis of biological system in both health and disease conditions, determining the change in the concentration of specific metabolites. Thus, metabolomics analysis of clinical samples may allow for new biomarker identification and might be utilized for early detection as well as for evaluation of the disease progression and patient's response to treatment.

Predicting tendencies of developing diseases

While different molecular techniques can identify changes at the genetic level, it remains unclear how this manifested in the cell phenotype. Metabolism, on the other hand, receive inputs from every level of cellular regulation and thus better represent the actual cellular output. For example, in case of identical twins who have the same genomic background, metabolomics might predict the tendency of one to develop a certain disease. In this regard, metabolomics has been successfully used to give insights into the course of diverse diseases, discover novel biomarkers, and shed light on the impact of drug metabolism and effects in vivo.

Sharing knowledge at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University (TAU) is already excellent in promoting and sponsoring ground-breaking research, which has been recognized by prestigious academic award committees and has benefitted countless people worldwide. It has established several centers, such as the BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery, the Sagol School of Neuroscience and SPARK Tel Aviv, dedicated to bringing researchers from different fields together and encouraging them to share their knowledge and develop new understandings and methodologies to benefit society.

Next, we wish to advance TAU to the highest standards of metabolomics. Thus, as part of the BLAVATNIK CENTER for drug discovery expansion, we are establishing an exclusive Metabolomics division entitled "Metabolite Medicine". Our new division aim to provide a fully-integrated platform that will inevitably lead to ground-braking discoveries. This will be accomplished by an inclusive innovative infrastructure that will implement analytical, microscopic and crystallographic techniques together with bioinformatics and computational methodologies.