Metabolomics corona research receives € 1 million

A consortium* consisting of universities, academic hospitals and industrial partners, received a grant of € 1 million from Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) for metabolomics research into corona. The research is led by Medical Delta professor Prof. Thomas Hankemeier (Leiden University, Erasmus MC), scientific leader in the scientific program Medical Delta METABODELTA and consortium leader of Medical Delta Fieldlab Phenomix, where the research is partly carried out.

The consortium is researching why some corona patients are much worse off than others, and whether it is possible to predict which of them will develop critical symptoms.

Various symptoms.

Covid-19 is a complex disease in which patients develop very different symptoms. Some people hardly notice that they have contracted the infection, while others end up in the intensive care unit in a critical condition and are at risk of death. The consortium wants to use metabolomics to gain more insight into individual health risks related to the disease.

“To make a prediction about the course of the disease, we will determine the metabolic fingerprints in the blood of 5,000 to 7,000 Covid-19 patients. This fingerprint consists of more than a thousand metabolic products and lipids, ”says Hankemeijer. “It is therefore a direct reflection of all Covid-19 relevant processes that take place in the human body, such as the viral infection, the consequences and the body's response to it. ”

Better predictions and better treatment

That way, the researchers can identify markers that predict which new patients will develop severe symptoms. “By combining the obtained profiles with computer models and organ-on-a-chip systems, we can find out what is happening in the body of sick patients,” says Hankemeier.

The consortium hopes to improve patient care for intensive care patients, elderly and other risk groups. They can also use the models and fingerprints to test the effect of existing and new medicine or, for example, to optimize the diet and nutritional supplements of patients.

*This project is a collaboration between Leiden University, Leiden University Medical Center, Utrecht University, University Medical Center Utrecht, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Khondrion BV, Eyesiu Medicines BV, Danone Nutricia Research, Mimetas BV, AB Sciex Germany GmbH, Stichting Topcare and Euretos BV and is financed by Health~Holland. The collaboration project is co-financed with a PPP allowance made available by Health~Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, to encourage public-private partnerships.

Please read the full article on the website of Leiden University.

Last July we published an article about the corona research that is done in the Medical Delta Fieldlab Phenomix. Read more.