Dr Darren Creek is a Senior Lecturer, NHMRC Career Development Fellow and head of the pharmaceutical metabolomics laboratory at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He completed his PhD at Monash University in 2007, and performed post-doctoral research in Uganda, Scotland and Australia working on antimalarial drug discovery and clinical trials, before focusing on metabolomics studies of tropical parasites. He developed several novel analytical methods and software tools for the metabolomics field, and discovered novel pathways and drug mechanisms in protozoan parasites. Dr Creek’s laboratory currently uses metabolomics and proteomics to understand mechanisms of drug action and resistance for cancer and infectious diseases, with a major focus on African trypanosomiasis and malaria. Darren continues to develop novel metabolomics methods to advance the field, is a Director of the international Metabolomics Society (2013- ), and recently held the position of vice-president of the Australian and New Zealand Metabolomics Network.

Statement: I wish to stand for President of the Society to lead the continued growth of the Society and promote the expansion of metabolomics throughout the biological sciences. I have served on the Metabolomics Society Board for three years, the last two of these as Chair of the Conferences and Training Committee. In this role I have overseen the organisation of the two largest international Metabolomics conferences in 2015 and 2016. Behind the scenes, we have also re-structured the conference organisation procedures to ensure a consistent professionally-run conference while ensuring that the conference hosts can focus primarily on optimising the scientific content, rather than spending time on logistical issues. We have also introduced mechanisms for financial and in-kind support for smaller conferences and training courses hosted by Society members across the globe. As President of the Society I will ensure the continued improvement and expansion of our Society conferences, progress the development and implementation of a new Society journal, support the expanding presence of the Early-career members network, develop mutually beneficial relationships between the international Society and regional metabolomics networks, encourage interaction with related scientific disciplines, and empower Task Groups with relevant expertise to re-invigorate the Metabolomics Standards Initiative and provide the recommendations and tools to ensure that metabolomics research is characterised by quality, innovation and impact.

My programme of research focuses on the development of metabolomics and lipidomics tools to investigate aspects of the Metabolic Syndrome. In particular we have an interest in identifying biomarkers that stratify patients according to risk factor of the Metabolic Syndrome and understand the associated underlying mechanisms. My group has been at the centre of the development of metabolomics/metabonomics as a research tool in biochemistry, and in particular its application to medical diagnostics. Since my fellowship in the Nicholson group at Imperial College London where I contributed to some of the first papers in this field, my group has made regular presentations at the major metabolomics meetings and published key papers in this research area. In particular we have examined the use of metabolomics as a tool for monitoring atherosclerosis [Kirschenlohr et al., Nature Medicine, 2006; Cheng et al., Physiol Genomics, 2010], modelling metabolism changes in cardiac disease [Wang, J Prot Res, in press] and modelling whole body metabolism in aspects of the Metabolic Syndrome [Roberts et al, Genome Biol. 2011; Roberts et al., Diabetes, 2015; Atherton et al., Mol Syst Biol. 2009]. Central to the ethos of the group is a mechanistic understanding of why these metabolic changes occur. We have also developed bioinformatics tools in this area to process multivariate metabolomics data.

I am a director of the Metabolic Profiling Forum and co-organise the Metabomeetings, an international metabolomics meeting held each year in the UK/Europe. I was also a board member and secretary to the Metabolomics Society and a committee member of Small Molecules Are Still Hot (SMASH). I was also a co-chair on the Metabolomics Standards Initiative which aims to define standard reporting structures for metabolomics. I am regularly invited to give talks at National and International meetings, including Keystone meetings, Experimental Biology, the Korean Metabolomics Society, the International Systems Biology Conference, and the Metabolomics Society. I am a member of the editorial board for Genome Medicine, Metabolites and Scientific Reports.

Statement: I think the first aim of any member of the Board of the Society, and in particular the President, is to ensure that our annual meeting remains to be the premiere event in metabolomics across the globe. We have enjoyed global growth since the Society’s inception and in order to continue to grow we must engage with scientists across the world to ensure we can deliver a truly global society. There are two areas for growth that I see. The first is to increase engagement with new regional and national societies, networks and conferences in the field of metabolomics. The second is to attract more scientists into the field by engaging with the wider biological community, especially those involved in -omic science. We have seen already the synergy in terms of software development between metabolomics and proteomics, and with increased interest in data fusion across -omics the time seems ripe for joint meetings between communities to encourage collaborations and synergies.

In terms of what areas I would like to champion as President my feeling is that the community has been good at developing large centres and cores of excellence in many countries across the globe. These groups have critical mass and have regular contact with one another. Hence, they can rapidly adopt new innovations in the community. However, I feel there is an on-going need to support the small groups of our community where perhaps there is a single student or post-doc who would describe their project as being in metabolomics, and for them it’s a struggle as to where to go for help and advice. We need to ensure our workshops and meetings cater for these students and young post-docs who will form part of the next generation of scientists. Thus, training is as important now as it was when the society was formed to make sure we seem improvements in the quality of our science – we don’t want to keep seeing the same mistakes appear in the literature! I have been a member of the committees for data standardisation and still feel that these committees should champion describing what is done in a metabolomics experiment but not prescribing what should be done in a metabolomics experiment. It’s very important we as a community do not fall into a feeling that ‘one size fits all’ in terms of method development or assay provision if we are to drive forward the field. There is also a need to continue to grow our interactions with the ‘vibrant ecosystem’ of local, national and regional meetings. Again no ‘one size fits all’ and the Society has to continue how these interactions can be grown for the benefit of all. Finally, with tongue firmly in cheek I have no plans to build any walls, I enjoy eating tacos and some of my best friends (and most of my group) are European.

I got my PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from University College London, UK. I started working in the field of metabolomics in University of Cambridge, UK overtime moving from lab based experiments to data analysis and data handling. In the past, I have worked as scientific investigator at the Medical Research Council, Cambridge UK. In 2012, I joined EMBL-EBI and currently work as the Scientific Coordinator/Project Manager. At EMBL-EBI we host the MetaboLights (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights), the first general purpose repository for metabolomics data. For me, open access data sharing is of paramount importance to the metabolomics community growth, enabling us to move a step closer to the result reproducibility, a key objective for any scientific field. Here metabolomics standards can play a vital role (http://www.metabolomics-msi.org) having the opportunity to manage and coordinate a large EU infrastructure project on metabolomics data standards, COSMOS (Coordination of Standards in Metabolomics – http://cosmos-fp7.eu) , it has re-ignited standards effort within the community, in a more bottom-up approach. Professionally, I’m member of the Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, Cambridge Neuroscience and Cambridge Cancer Centre. I’m also involved in several workshop and training activities in Metabolomics, particularly as the main organizer of the “EMBO Practical Course on Metabolomics Bioinformatics for Life Scientists” ongoing since 2012, giving me the opportunity to work with groups of talented and excellent instructors/tutors in metabolomics that share the same passion for metabolomics data handling and standards. I’m also one of the directors of the Metabolic Profiling Forum (MPF), were we host the Metabomeeting conference series to promote the discussion and debate of the latest developments in metabolomics and the underlying techniques. I’m also Associate Editor for Nature’s Frontiers Metabolomics Journal.

Statement: I’m actively involved in both data sharing and data standards developments. Having chaired the Data Standards Task Group, it has given me the opportunity to work with both HUPO-PSI and MSI initiatives. I would like to see all current standardisation effort go under one banner of MSI, as before, and to revitalise MSI again, (e.g. MSI 2.0). This is a hard and extensive community-wide collaborative work, which requires the involvement of many people, groups and ideas with diverse expertise to tackle challenges in metabolite ID, reproducibility and quantification. My main aim would be to ideally restructure the task group or to integrate them better, add new needed Task groups to bringing together leaders in this area from metabolomics, proteomics and other communities as well as to involve industry, vendors, journals etc. engaged into the discussion. All standards developed would remain open access and publicly available to all and anyone interested.

I’m also chairing the Website Committee, promoting Society and community activities worldwide. We hope to see an increase in activity from our members in the forum (http://www.metabolomics-forum.com) and for you to share your thoughts and expertise with each other. I am particularly encouraged by the involvement with our Early-career Members Network (EMN) activities. My objective would be to support and promote EMN and to facilities their needs. I strongly believe in openness and transparency, where and whenever possible. I hope to bring Society activities to public domain discussions, for better engagement with the Society members and the wider Metabolomics community.

I’m also a member of the Conferences and Training Committee, helping to support various Metabolomics related conferences. I think the time is right now to have a separate Training Committee. There are several excellent training workshops and potential for further ones out there. My aim would be for the Society to facilitate and coordinate worldwide such activities and to share and learn from each others expertise. Finally to expand the memberships from Asia, South and Southeast Asia, South America, Africa and other regions that are currently under-represented.

I got my PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from University College London, UK. I started working in the field of metabolomics in University of Cambridge, UK overtime moving from lab based experiments to data analysis and data handling. In the past, I have worked as scientific investigator at the Medical Research Council, Cambridge UK. In 2012, I joined EMBL-EBI and currently work as the Scientific Coordinator/Project Manager. At EMBL-EBI we host the MetaboLights (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights), the first general purpose repository for metabolomics data. For me, open access data sharing is of paramount importance to the metabolomics community growth, enabling us to move a step closer to the result reproducibility, a key objective for any scientific field. Here metabolomics standards can play a vital role (http://www.metabolomics-msi.org) having the opportunity to manage and coordinate a large EU infrastructure project on metabolomics data standards, COSMOS (Coordination of Standards in Metabolomics – http://cosmos-fp7.eu) , it has re-ignited standards effort within the community, in a more bottom-up approach. Professionally, I’m member of the Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, Cambridge Neuroscience and Cambridge Cancer Centre. I’m also involved in several workshop and training activities in Metabolomics, particularly as the main organizer of the “EMBO Practical Course on Metabolomics Bioinformatics for Life Scientists” ongoing since 2012, giving me the opportunity to work with groups of talented and excellent instructors/tutors in metabolomics that share the same passion for metabolomics data handling and standards. I’m also one of the directors of the Metabolic Profiling Forum (MPF), were we host the Metabomeeting conference series to promote the discussion and debate of the latest developments in metabolomics and the underlying techniques. I’m also Associate Editor for Nature’s Frontiers Metabolomics Journal.

Statement: As Secretary of the Metabolomics Society, I would observe the formal responsibilities as have been outlined by the Society bylaws closely working with ASK, that is now managing many such tasks including minutes taking and arranging teleconferences. I will try to improve teamwork among the directors, task group members and committees to better coordinate responsibilities and to achieve goals. As Society secretary, I would ensure that the rules are adhered to and/or modified where appropriate and that due process is followed and documented. At the same time, most importantly, I would like to provide a means for the member to voice their concern and to be better informed and engaged. I would be working closely with the Society President and Treasurer ensuring our fiscal and bylaw responsibilities are met. I would utilise my past experience in managing and coordinating large EU infrastructure projects to achieve these goals. Particularly, I believe that we could benefit more by sharing tasks and delegating responsibilities to improve and further the Society, ultimately benefiting the community.

Krista Zanetti is a Program Officer in the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP), Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Zanetti earned her Ph.D. in Nutrition in 2003 and joined the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program at the NCI. During the first year of her fellowship, she earned an M.P.H. at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Zanetti then conducted primary research in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis in the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research from 2004 to 2010.

Since joining EGRP in 2010, Dr. Zanetti’s primary focus has been building infrastructure and capacity to support metabolomics in large population-based studies. Most recently, she spearheaded collaborative efforts to establish the trans-NIH international COnsortium of METabolomics Studies (COMETS) that has brought together 34 prospective cohorts and 2 consortia from the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. COMETS will allow investigators from across multiple disease phenotypes to: 1.) leverage existing resources and data; and 2.) work collectively to develop methods, tools and protocols for data harmonization and sharing, quality control and data standardization.

Statement: The field of metabolomics is rapidly evolving and broadening its reach. Therefore, the Metabolomics Society must also simultaneously adapt to assure that the Society meets the needs of a diverse membership. As a current member of the Board of Directors, I understand the importance of maintaining timely and transparent communication between the Board and Society at-large, so that the membership can stay abreast of activities and decisions, as well as provide feedback.

As a Program Officer at the National Cancer Institute, these are issues that I successfully manage on a daily basis to ensure that my grantees and I are aware of the latest developments in the metabolomics field. In addition, I am the Chair of the Society Strategy Task Group, which is currently identifying approaches to work with the membership to establish a strategic plan for the Society. I am also an active member of the Data Quality and Precision Medicine and Pharmacometabolomics Task Groups, a member of the Metabolomics 2017 International Organizing Committee, and have worked with the Early-career Member Network Committee in an advisory capacity since 2014.

My service on these committees and groups has not only provided me with a strong understanding of how the Society functions, but further strengthened my organization and communication skills. Therefore, I am well poised to take on the leadership role of Secretary and work towards meeting the following objectives, if elected: 1.) develop approaches to improve communication between the Board and the Society Membership; 2.) identify strategies to increase transparency of the leadership activities; and 3.) record and maintain accurate records of the proceedings of the Directors and the Membership to assure the Society has a detailed historical archive.

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. My research applies mass spectrometry to projects that are of therapeutic relevance to human diseases. While my lab’s main research focuses on systems approaches to understanding lung disease, our numerous collaborative efforts span from microbiome and toxicology research to exercise physiology and diabetes. Our laboratory and core facility have robust platforms in metabolomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics; these are applied to a very broad expanse of fields and interests.
In addition to my metabolomics background, I have extensive organizational and fiscal experience that I’ve previously used to serve the mass spectrometry community. This includes co-founding and serving as Treasurer for the Colorado Biological Mass Spectrometry Society (www.CBMSS.org). During my tenure, I was responsible for establishing the CBMSS as a non-profit organization, writing by-laws, setting up and managing money accounts, and providing financial statements to the Board and federal agencies. My fiscal experience includes managing a large core facility comprised of 18 scientists and students, co-organizing the 2010 United Stated Human Proteome Organization (US HuPO) meeting, and leading an internationally recognized Metabolomics and Proteomics training program.

Statement: My goal as Treasurer for the Metabolomics Society would be to provide consistent and reliable oversight of all aspects of Society finances; my prime purpose would be making sure the financial status of the Society is stable and continues to improve. I appreciate that this is a position of considerable responsibility and I feel that my extensive fiscal and organizational experience qualifies me for this important role. The field of metabolomics is growing at a fast rate and intersects with a number of related disciplines, both technical and biological. Incorporating and soliciting new sources of revenue and managing existing relationships will require a strong commitment and fiscal experience, both of which I possess. As a recently elected member of the Board of Directors, serving as Treasurer would enable me to be immediately and actively engaged in the Society at a significant level. One of my goals as a board member is to help our community members gain access to resources and tools. Serving as Treasurer would help me to meet this goal, in part through allocating resources to various working groups in response to member and board input. Finally, serving as Treasurer to this rapidly expanding and impactful society would be a pleasure and a privilege.