Dear Colleagues,

Metabolomics, defined as the comprehensive analysis of small molecules involved in metabolic pathways of living organisms, addresses the complex interplay between the human genome, epigenetic factors, and the microbiome. The impressive growth of publications on metabolomics over the last 22 years (8 PubMed citations in 2000 and 12,746 in 2022) is due to at least three factors: (a) the availability of high-throughput technologies generating large-scale data related to “omics” analysis, including metabolomics; (b) the need to unravel the molecular processes induced by the complex interplay between the human genome and environmental factors; (c) the application of individualized medicine based on the system biology approach. Most published metabolomics based articles consist of experimental in vitro or in vivo studies in animal models and plants, as well as clinical research in human diseases. Regrettably, most discoveries have not yet been translated into the clinical setting. Moving metabolomics research into clinical testing means that metabolomic results must impact clinical decision-making, similar to any other clinical test result. Moreover, quantitative data acquisition is critical, being a prerequisite for clinical decision-making. This special issue encourages the submission of original metabolomics-based studies applied to clinical practice; narrative and systematic reviews are also requested. Our aim is to contribute to reducing the metabolomics translational gap.

Dr. Michele Mussap
Guest Editor