Omics
Much of our research uses omics technologies. Our researchers are utilising metabolomics, glycomics, nutriomics and epigenomics to investigate the causes of common diseases. The microbiome is also a major research focus.
In the last few years, new high-throughput technologies have allowed us to measure metabolites in human plasma, serum and urine and provided a new powerful tool to investigate the cause of common conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, and the influence of lifestyle choices such as smoking. To date we have assessed the metabolomic profiles of over 6,000 twins. We are also looking at metabolic markers in our blood to see if we can use these rather than questionnaires to measure what nutrients and vitamins we eat.
We are also comparing our diets with our gut microbiome, the composition of which can determine if we are fat or thin. We have characterised the gut microbiome of our twin volunteers using sequencing of 16s rDNA and entire metagenomes, to understand the role of the microbiome in human health and disease.
Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, can be subject to genetic, environmental and stochastic influences, and can have important downstream effects on the regulation of gene expression, normal development and disease. Our research focuses on the epigenetic basis of human health and disease in twins, as well as on understanding the factors driving epigenetic variation.
