NEW YORK – Metabolon announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine to bring metabolomics to the school's Amish Research Program.
The school aims to integrate metabolomics with genomic and clinical datasets, building biochemical profiles of the genetically unique Amish population to better understand the basics of incidental disease.
Several other pharmaceutical researchers have been involved in the study since 2015, performing whole-exome sequencing on cohort samples.
"This partnership is part of our effort to expand our disease coverage strategy by engaging in deliberate collaborations to explore clinically relevant samples," Rohan Hastie, president and CEO of Metabolon, said in a statement. "We regularly do this for our clients, and now we are utilizing our deep metabolomics expertise to reveal new relevant disease biomarkers and ultimately improve patient outcomes."
Metabolon is currently involved in several other partnerships to incorporate metabolomics into broader datasets, including a twin microbiome study with King's College London and a study of disease-associated genetic variants in the Finnish population.