Research Workshop • Novel Nutritional and Metabolic Status Biomarkers (RW-2025)

The 2025 Research Workshop – Novel Nutritional and Metabolic Status Biomarkers, will focus on the current evidence for biomarkers in use as well as those in development to capture nutritional and metabolic status, which is critical in medical care. There is strong evidence that adequate nutritional support remains a key component of favorable patient outcomes and could significantly modulate metabolic, biological, and pathological processes.

Historically, anthropometric and serological assessments have been utilized to assess nutritional and metabolic status. However, there is wide variability in their clinical and research utilization. In addition, despite the paucity of evidence-based support, many are used in clinical decision processes. Over the past decade, there has been burgeoning research into proteinomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and metabolomics and their relevance to individual/personalized medicine as a tool for objective cross-sectional and longitudinal nutritional and metabolic status assessment and response to therapy. There is also a major interest in new technology focusing on activity trackers providing non-invasive and real-time assessment of body composition and calorie burn, as well as transcutaneous devices to assess nutritional and metabolic status. Noninvasive imaging and novel blood assays are presenting unique opportunities to assess obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.

This workshop aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current evidence for biomarkers in use as well as those in development. This shall be achieved with a critical review of literature, panel discussions, presentations, open discussions, and question/answer sessions, seeking areas ripe for new clinical, translational, and basic research.

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the usefulness, reliability, and validity, of various anthropometric, clinical and functional biomarkers and tools in assessing nutritional and metabolic status.
2. Describe and evaluate the impact of novel non-invasive biomarkers on the assessment of body composition, obesity, MASH and MASLD.
3. Outline the translational research behind the development of gut integrity and inflammatory biomarkers as a surrogate of nutritional and metabolic status and their clinical relevance.
4. Describe nutrigenomics and key gene expression signatures that reflect nutritional and metabolic status.
5. Describe the relevance of proteomics and metabolomic approaches to nutritional biomarker discovery, their clinical relevance and pitfalls.
6. Explain how epigenetics and epigenetic regulators such as miRNA and shRNA could be used to assess nutritional and metabolic status.
7. Describe the role and impact of technology as a novel nutrition and metabolic status marker.

Program Overview

Non-invasive Biomarkers

• Overview of Nutritional and Metabolic Status Biomarkers
• Reliability, Validity, and Usefulness of Body Composition and Functional Assessment Tools

The ‘Omics’ in Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases

• From Phenotypes to Genotypes: Role of Genomic Imprinting and Gene Expression Profiling to Characterize Nutritional and Metabolic Status
• Microbiota, Gut Integrity, and Inflammatory Biomarkers as Surrogates of Nutrition and Metabolic Status – An Update on Clinical Applications from Translational Research

Novel Technological Advances in Assessing Nutritional and Metabolic Status

• Validity of Electronic Tools as Nutrition Intake Markers, Wrist-worn Senso, and Energy Measurements to Monitor Nutrition and Metabolic Status
• An Update on Selection and Relevance of Surrogate Micronutrient and Macronutrient Biomarkers for Nutritional and Metabolic Status