Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government

COMETS Membership

The COnsortium of METabolomics Studies (COMETS) advances metabolomic epidemiology by facilitating collaborations among prospective cohort studies that perform metabolomic profiling of individuals. Participating cohorts must collect blood metabolomics data on at least 100 participants and follow-up for clinically relevant outcomes. Every participating cohort is allowed one representative on the COMETS Steering Committee. 

Current COMETS Executive Committee Members

Chair:
Marinella Temprosa, Ph.D.
George Washington University
Representing the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS)
ella@bsc.gwu.edu

Vice-Chair:
Rachel Kelly, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Representing the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART)
hprke@channing.harvard.edu

Secretary:
Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, M.D., Ph.D., R.D.
National Cancer Institute
Representing the Shanghai Physical Activity Study (SPA)
rachael.solomon@nih.gov

Members:

Su Chu, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Representing the Normative Aging Study (NAS)
su.chu@channing.harvard.edu

Luciana Crotti Espinoza, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute
Program Director
luciana.crottiespinoza@nih.gov

Kelly Crotty, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute
Program Director
Kelly.crotty@nih.gov

Priyadarshini Kachroo, Ph.D., M.S.
Harvard Medical School
Representing the MGB Biobank Asthma study
reprk@channing.harvard.edu

Donghai Liang, Ph.D.
Emory University
Representing the Emory African American Maternal-Child Cohort (Emory AA Maternal-Child Cohort)
donghai.liang@emory.edu

Steven Moore, Ph.D., M.P.H.
National Cancer Institute
Representing Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO)
moorest@mail.nih.gov

Mukesh Verma, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute
Program Director
vermam@mail.nih.gov

Maura Walker, M.S., Ph.D.
Boston University
Representing the Framingham Heart Study
mewalker@bu.edu

Danxia Yu, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Representing the Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS)
danxia.yu@vumc.org

Past Members: Kathryn Rexrode, Bo Chawes, Svati Shah, Jessica Lasky-Su, Vicky Stevens, Demetrius Albanes, Ewy Mathé, Bing Yu, Craig Wheelock.

Current COMETS Steering Committee Members

Demetrius Albanes, M.D.
National Cancer Institute
Representing the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC)
daa@nih.gov

Clara Barrios Barrera, M.D.
Hospital del Mar, Barcelona
Representing the Genodiab-Mar Cohort (GDM)
clarabarrios@hotmail.es

Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Ph.D.
University of Bristol
Representing the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS)
y.ben-shlomo@bristol.ac.uk

Russell Bowler, M.D., Ph.D.
National Jewish Heritage
Representing the COPD Gene Epidemiology (COPD Gene)
bowlerr@njhealth.org

Hermann Brenner, M.D.
German Cancer Research Center
Representing the Epidemiological Study on the Chances of Cure, Early Detection, and Optimized Therapy of Chronic Diseases in the Elderly Population (ESTHER)
h.brenner@dkfz.de

Stefanie Brezina, M.Sc.
Medical Univeristy of Vienna
Representing the COloRectal Cancer Study of Austria (CORSA)
stephanie.brezina@meduniwien.ac.at

Qiuyin Cai, M.D., Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Representing the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS)
qiuyin.cai@vumc.org

Bo Chawes, M.D., Ph.D., D.M.Sci.
University of Copenhagen
Representing the COpenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC)
chawes@copsac.com

Ching-Lung Cheung, Ph.D.
University of Hong Kong
Representing the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study (HKOS)
lung1212@hku.hk

Emily Chew, Ph.D.
National Eye Institute
Representing the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS)
echew@nei.nih.gov

Carlos Cruchaga, Ph.D.
Washington University in St. Louis
Representing the Knight ADRC and Nuerogenomics and Informatics Cohort (NGI)
cruchagac@wustl.edu

Heather Eliassen, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital
Representing the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II)
nhahe@channing.harvard.edu

Mohsen Ghanbari, Ph.D.
Erasmus University Medical Center
Representing the Rotterdam Study (RS)
m.ghanbari@erasmusmc.nl

Rebecca Graff, Sc.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Representing the Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS)
rebecca.graff@ucsf.edu

Sei Harada, M.D., Ph.D.
Keio University
Representing the Tsuruoka Metabolomic Cohort Study (TMCS)
seiharada@keio.jp

Aki Havulinna, D.Sc.
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
Representing Health 2000, Finrisk 1997, Finrisk 2002, Finrisk 2007, and Finrisk 2012
aki.havulinna@thl.fi

David Herrington, M.D.
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Representing the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
rdwhite@wakehealth.edu

Joel Hirschhorn, M.D., Ph.D.
Broad Institute
Representing The Estonian Biobank (EBB)
joel.hirschhorn@childrens.harvard.edu

Ann Hsing, Ph.D.
Stanford Prevention Research Center
Representing the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR) and Well for Life-China (WELL-CHINA)
annhsing@stanford.edu

Deeba Husain, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
Representing the Age Related Macular Degenerated Cohort (AMD)
deeba_husain@meei.harvard.edu

Mazda Jenab, Ph.D.
International Agency for Research on Cancer
Representing the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
jenabm@iarc.fr

Mattias Johansson, M.D.
International Agency for Research on Cancer
Representing the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS)
johanssonm@iarc.fr

Hector Keun, D.Phil
Imperial College London
Representing the Human Early Life Exposome Study Sub-cohort (HELIX)
h.keun@imperial.ac.uk

Mika Kivimaki, Ph.D.
University College London
Representing the Whitehall-II study (WH-II)
m.kivimaki@ucl.ac.uk

Bruce Kristal, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Representing the Multi-ethnic Cohort (MEC)
bruce.kristal@gmail.com

Wassim Labaki, M.D., M.S.
University of Michigan
Representing the SubPopulations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS)
wlabaki@med.umich.edu

Rikard Landberg, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Chalmers University of Technology
Representing the Swedish Infrastructure for Medical Population-based Life-course and Environmental Research (SIMPLER)
rikard.landberg@chalmers.se

Claudia Langenberg, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
Representing the Fenland Study
claudia.langenberg@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk

Jessica Lasky-Su, Sc.D.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Representing the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP)
jessica.a.su@gmail.com

Debbie Lawlor, Ph.D.
University of Bristol
Representing the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and Born in Bradford (BiB)
d.a.lawlor@bristol.ac.uk

Ewy Mathé, Ph.D.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Representing the Longitudinal EMR and Omics COVID-19 Cohort (LEOCC)
ewy.mathe@nih.gov

Kevin Mendez, M.S.
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Representing the Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in Costa Rica Cohort (GACRS)
rekme@channing.harvard.edu

Cristina Menni, Ph.D.
King's College London
Representing the Twins UK
cristina.menni@kcl.ac.uk

Rachel Murphy, Ph.D.
University of British Columbia
Representing the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study (Health ABC)
rachel.murphy@ubc.ca

Megan Niedzwiecki, Ph.D.
Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Representing the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS)
megan.niedzwiecki@mssm.edu

Matej Orešič, Ph.D.
University of Helsinki Finland
Representing the Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Birth Cohort
matej.oresic@gmail.com

Eric Orwoll, M.D.
Oregon Health and Science University
Representing the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS)
orwoll@ohsu.edu

Jennifer Ose, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah
Representing the ColoCare (COLO)
jennifer.ose@hs-hannover.de

Alexandre Pereira, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Representing the Baependi Heart Study (BHS)
alexandre_pereira@hms.harvard.edu

Wei Perng, Ph.D.
Colorado School of Public Health
Representing Project Viva
wei.perng@gmail.com

Jackie Price, Ph.D.
The University of Edinburgh
Representing the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS)
jackie.price@ed.ac.uk

Rui Providencia, M.D., Ph.D.
University College London
Representing the British Women’s Heart and Health Study (BWHHS)
rui.providencia@ucl.ac.uk

Qibin Qi, Ph.D.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Representing the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS)
qibin.qi@einstein.yu.edu

Kathryn Rexrode, M.D., M.P.H.
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital
Representing the Women's Health Initiative (WHI)
krexrode@partners.org

Denise Scholtens, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
Representing the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study
dscholtens@northwestern.edu

Wei Jie Seow, Ph.D.
National University of Singapore
Representing the Singapore Prospective Study Program (SP2)
ephswj@nus.edu.sg

Howie Sesso, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Representing the Physicians' Health Study (PHS)
hsesso@hsph.harvard.edu

Svati Shah, M.D., M.H.S.
Duke Molecular Physiology Institute
Representing the Catheterization Genetics (CATHGEN) and Genetics of Early Onset Cardiovascular Disease (GENECARD)
svati.shah@duke.edu

Xiao-Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Representing the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS)
xiao-ou.shu@vanderbilt.edu

Gordon Smith, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
Representing the Pregnancy Outcomes Prediction Study (POPS)
gcss2@cam.ac.uk

Victoria Stevens, Ph.D.
vstevens311@gmail.com

Isobel Stewart, Ph.D.
University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
Representing the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), Norfolk
isobel.stewart@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk

Therese Tillin, Ph.D.
University College London
Representing Southall and Brent Revisited (SABRE)
t.tillin@ucl.ac.uk

Kostas Tsilidis, Ph.D.
Imperial College London
Representing the Epirus Health Study
k.tsilidis@imperial.ac.uk

Katherine L. Tucker, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Representing the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS)
katherine_tucker@uml.edu

Ioanna Tzoulaki, Ph.D.
Imperial College London
Representing the Airwave Health Monitoring Study (AIRWAVE)
i.tzoulaki@imperial.ac.uk

Jose M. Valdivielso, Ph.D.
IRBLleida Institute of Biomedical Research
Representing the Observatorio Nacional de Atherosclerosis en Nefrologia (NEFRONA)
valdivielso@medicina.udl.es

Ying Wang, Ph.D.
American Cancer Society
Representing Cancer Prevention Study – II (CPS-II)
ying.wang@cancer.org

Rui Wang-Sattler, Ph.D.
Helmholtz Zentrum München
Representing the Kooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburgn (KORA)
rui.wang-sattler@helmholtz-muenchen.de

Craig Wheelock, Ph.D.
Karolinska Institute
Representing the PartnErs Gunma ASthma Study (PEGASUS)
craig.wheelock@ki.se

Sara White, Ph.D.
King's College London
Representing the UK Pregnancies Better Eating and Activity Trial (UPBEAT)
sara.white@kcl.ac.uk

James Wilson, D.Phil
Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh
Representing the Orkney Complex Disease Study (ORCADES)
jim.wilson@ed.ac.uk

Andrew Wong, Ph.D.
Medical Research Council (UK)
Representing Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (MRC NSHD)
andrew.wong@ucl.ac.uk

Bing Yu, Ph.D.
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Representing the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC)
bing.yu@uth.tmc.edu

Hua Zhao, Ph.D.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Representing the Mano-A-Mano, the Mexican American Cohort (MAC)
hzhao2@mdanderson.org
 

Cohort Studies Participating in COMETS

Cohort Funded By
Age Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS/AREDS2) National Eye Institute
The Age Related Macular Degenerated Cohort (AMD) Commonwealth Grant, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Discretionary Fund, and the Portuguese FCI
Airwave Health Monitoring Study (AIRWAVE) UK Government Home Office, UK National Institute for Health Research, Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre,
UK Medical Research Council, UK MEDical BIOinformatics Partnership
Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and by U.S. Public Health Service
Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) The UK Medical Research Council, the University of Bristol, the British Heart Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust and Joint UK Research Councils via the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Programme
Baependi Heart Study (BHS)
 
Hospital Samaritano, FAPESP
Born in Bradford (BiB) The Wellcome Trust, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and UK Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC), and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS) National Institutes of Health
Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR) National Cancer Institute
British Women’s Heart and Health Study (BWHHS) British Heart Foundation and NHS Digital
Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS) UK Medical Research Council and the Alzheimer’s Society UK
Cancer Prevention Study – II (CPS-II) American Cancer Society
Catheterization Genetics (CATHGEN) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
ColoCare (COLO) National Cancer Institute
COloRectal Cancer Study of Austria (CORSA) Austrian Science Fund, Austria Research Promotion Agency
COPD Gene Epidemiology National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
COpenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) 2010 The Lundbeck Foundation; Danish State Budget; Danish Council for Strategic Research; Danish Council for Independent Research and The Capital Region Research Foundation
Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Birth Cohort Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Academy of Finland
Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Cancer Institute, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Aging, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS) Medical Research Council, Chief Scientist Office of Scottish, Pfizer plc (Unrestricted Investigator Led Grant), and Diabetes UK Clinical Research Fellowship
Emory African American Maternal-Child Cohort (Emory AA Maternal-Child Cohort) NIEHS Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program
Epirus Health Study (EHS) Prefecture of Epirus, Greece
The Estonian Biobank (EBB)  
European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) World Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Research UK, French National Cancer Institute, and European Commission
Fenland Study UK Medical Research Council
Finrisk 1997 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Finrisk 2002 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Finrisk 2007 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Finrisk 2012 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Framingham Heart Study National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in Costa Rica Cohort (GACRS) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Genomewide Scan for Early-Onset Coronary Artery Disease (GENECARD)     
Genodiab-Mar (GDM)   Instituto de Salud Carlos III and Spanish Renal Research Network (RedinRen)
The Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) study     National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Health 2000 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study (Health ABC) National Institute on Aging
Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS) National Cancer Institute
Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study (HKOS)   
Human Early Life Exposome Study Sub-cohort (HELIX) European Union Seventh Framework Programme
Kooperative Health Research in Augsburg (KORA) Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the State of Bavaria, the Federal Ministry of Health, the German Research Foundation, and the European Union
Longitudinal EMR and Omics COVID-19 Cohort (LEOCC)   
Mano a Mano, the Mexican American Cohort (MAC) National Cancer Institute
Mass General Brigham (MGB)-Biobank Asthma National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (MRC NSHD) UK Medical Research Council and British Heart Foundation
Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) National Cancer Institute
Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Normative Aging Study (NAS)  Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS) World Cancer Research Fund
Nurses' Health Studies (NHS) National Cancer Institute
Nurses’ Health Studies II (NHS-II) National Cancer Institute
Observatorio Nacional de Atherosclerosis en Nefrologia (NEFRONA) ABBOTT laboratories and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Orkney Complex Disease Study (ORCADES) Royal Society, EU FP6, Arthritis UK, and the Medical Research Council, UK
The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
PartnErs Gunma Asthma Study (PEGASUS) National Institutes of Health and Gunma University
Physician's Health Study (PHS) National Cancer Institute
Pregnancy Outcomes Prediction Study (POPS) The Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment, and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Project Viva National Institutes of Health
Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) National Cancer Institute
The Rotterdam Study (RS) Erasmus MC, the Netherlands
Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS) National Cancer Institute
Shanghai Physical Activity Study (SPA)  National Cancer Institute
Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS) National Cancer Institute
Swedish Infrastructure for Medical Population-based Life-course and Environmental Research (SIMPLER) Swedish Research Council
Singapore Prospective Study Program (SP2) National University of Singapore Start-Up Grant; National Medical Research Council, Clinician Scientist Award, Ministry of Health Alignment Fund, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc; National Kidney Foundation
Southall and Brent Revisited (SABRE) Wellcome Trust and British Heart Foundation
Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS)   National Institutes of Health
SubPopulations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, COPD Foundation
Tsuruoka Metabolomic Cohort Study (TMCS)   Yamagata Prefectural Government, the city of Tsuruoka and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
TwinsUK Wellcome Trust; European Community's Seventh Framework Programme, National Institute for Health Research - funded BioResource, Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London
UK Pregnancies Better Eating and Activity Trial (UPBEAT) UK National Institute for Health Research
Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Well for Life-China (WELL-CHINA)     Gift funding to Stanford
Whitehall II (WH-II) The Medical Research Council, The British Heart Foundation, and National Institute on Aging
Women's Health Initiative (WHI) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, and NIH Office of Research on Women's Health

Applying to Join COMETS

Researchers Representing Cohort Studies

Cohorts must meet the following criteria to participate in COMETS:

  • Prospective cohort, 100+ participants with blood metabolomics data
  • Identified metabolite data
  • Follow-up for disease, including cancer and non-cancer outcomes
  • Mass-spectrometry and NMR platforms are eligible

Researchers representing cohorts who want to participate in COMETS should apply through the Steering Committee membership form. The completed form should be emailed to Luciana Crotti Espinoza and Kelly Crotty. Membership will be considered by the COMETS Executive Committee. Every participating cohort is allowed a primary representative to serve on the COMETS Steering Committee. Steering Committee members meet monthly to review new project proposals, share research progress, and update on interest group activities. 

Non-Steering Committee Membership

Researchers working in the field of metabolomic epidemiology who do not represent a cohort study can join as consortium members. Consortium members can propose new projects, join interest groups, and attend COMETS meetings, but do not have voting rights. Membership requires a nomination by a Steering Committee member and will be considered by the COMETS Executive Committee. Researchers, including trainees, interested in becoming a consortium member should fill out the consortium membership application form and email it along with their CV to Luciana Crotti Espinoza and Kelly Crotty (CCing the nominating Steering Committee member). 

Email