The Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) is a freely available database that contains detailed information about small molecules found in the human body. It is the first and foremost reference site for metabolite data worldwide. It provides scientists, clinicans, educators and the public with the most current and comprehensive coverage of the human metabolome. A key way to disseminate our schizophrenia biomarker not only to our academic field, but also to clinicians and educators would be to utilise this freely available resource.
We propose to disseminate our schizophrenia metabolomic biomarker findings via the HMDB. We will do this by employing a research assistant (RA) to work in conjunction with Prof. David Wishart’s research group (University of Alberta), who created and developed the database. It will involve updating the dedicated metabolomic database (HMDB) section on diseases, more specifically schizophrenia. At present there is a dedicated Metabocard for metabolites that have been reported to be dysregulated in the biofluids (blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine) of schizophrenia patients, however this card needs to be updated (last reference 2003). Updating this resource will generate a repository for our data and allow us share it with a wider community, increasing the visibility and impact of our research. Data sharing has many other advantages for example it leads to increases in citations and accelerates scientific progress.
Our current HRB funded project aims to measure the plasma metabolome and to identify biomarkers of the ‘at risk mental state’ (‘ARMS’) and who have converted from ‘ARMS’ to psychotic illness.