The Centre for Omics Sciences (COS) has emphasized the key role of epigenetics and metabolomics in understanding how the environment, diet and lifestyle influence ageing and human health at its third Annual Symposium, held today at Eurecat technology centre’s headquarters in Reus. Experts from academia and industry explored the business opportunities arising from the integration of these research fields.
“The dialogue between epigenetics and metabolomics opens up new pathways to understand the mechanisms through which diet, pollution or lifestyle leave a mark on our genome and shape the risk of developing diseases,” said Núria Canela, Technical Director of COS, a joint unit of Eurecat and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and a node of the Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) OmicsTech.
The Academic Director of COS, Manuel Suárez, highlighted the importance of “promoting translational research in order to accelerate the practical application of laboratory advances in clinical settings, and integrating omics technologies into clinical practice, to move towards a more personalized and preventive medicine.”
In her presentation at the symposium, Dorota Komar, a researcher in Eurecat’s Omics Sciences Unit, previewed results obtained within a pioneering project led by Eurecat. The study shows how metabolic changes associated with ageing generate epigenetic modifications—chemical changes that affect a person’s DNA without altering its sequence, but which determine how genes are expressed.
“With epigenetic clocks we can study epigenetic modifications to estimate a person’s biological age, which may differ from the chronological age determined by their date of birth,” explained Dorota Komar.
In addition, in the case of women, the researcher addressed how metabolic changes linked to female reproductive ageing, especially during the transition to menopause, and to excess body fat remodel the epigenetic landscape and influence the ageing trajectory.
The event brought together experts from academia and industry to discuss the latest advances in these emerging fields, highlighting that the environment leaves a mark on our DNA through epigenetic mechanisms that act as gene switches. “These changes can explain why exposures such as nutrition or pollution modulate the risk of developing metabolic, autoimmune or even mental diseases,” noted Núria Canela.
The symposium, supported by Illumina and the ICTS OmicsTech, featured internationally renowned speakers such as ISGlobal researcher Mariona Bustamante, who addressed epigenetic mechanisms associated with exposure to chemical compounds during early life stages; IISPV researcher Noelia Ramírez; and Goran Josipović from the company Genos, who presented innovative approaches such as the CRISPR/dCas9-based EpiToolbox for precise epigenetic manipulations.
During the session focused on clinical applications and personalized medicine, University of Barcelona professor Francisco José Pérez Cano presented a preclinical approach to study the role of fibre and polyphenols in early immunoprogramming, and Diego Gomes de Melo from the University of Campinas and the University of Coimbra presented strategies to mitigate adipose tissue inflammation.
The symposium, which brought together more than one hundred professionals and university students, concluded with an interdisciplinary round table moderated by Eurecat researchers Dorota Komar and Salvador Fernández on how to integrate epigenomics and metabolomics into clinical practice, with the participation of all invited expert voices.
