Barcelona Exposome Symposium: Building a Collaborative Research Community
For the first time, institutions across the Barcelona area gathered for the Barcelona Exposome Symposium, an event on the 25th September 2024 designed to promote collaboration within the growing exposome research community. The exposome is the integrated compilation of all the physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial factors, and their interactions, which have an impact on biology and health.
The program featured 3 invited talks, 18 abstract-selected presentations, and 15 posters that provided a panoramic view of local exposome research. Key topics included technological advances in measuring environmental exposures in biological samples, novel biomarkers for pollutants and dietary intake, and the role of environmental exposures in chronic diseases and early-life development. They were also discussions on how to integrate the exposome in clinical studies with deep phenotyping such as the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (BBHI) – A Cohort Study to Define and Promote Determinants of Brain Health, led by the Institut Guttmann.
This event, which brought together around 90 participants, was made possible through the joint efforts of ISGlobal’s Exposome Hub, CSIC, the University of Barcelona, and EMBL – Human Ecosystems Transversal Theme, reflecting the forefront of exposome research in Barcelona. Through the open abstract call, further institutions were represented such as the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and Eurocat. It also highlighted key community needs such as increased networking opportunities, knowledge exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration, and additional funding.
The symposium marks a step forward in the larger initiative to build an International Human Exposome Network and advance the integration of exposome research into public health and policy. There will be further editions.