The Exposome Boot Camp: Measuring Exposures on an Omic Scale

July 18-19, 2024 | Subscribe to hear about the next training

The most recent Exposome Boot Camp was on July 18-19, 2024. Sign up below to hear about the next training!

The Exposome Boot Camp is a two-day intensive boot camp of seminars and hands-on analytical sessions to provide an overview of concepts, techniques, and data analysis methods used in studies of the exposome.

Subscribe for Updates

Subscribe for updates on scholarship dates, deadlines, and announcements.

Boot Camp Overview

Summer 2024 dates: In-person training July 18-19, 2024; 10am EDT - ~5pm EDT

There are many challenges to capturing the complexity of exposures in an individual across the lifetime and their potential health effects. Traditionally, environmental health studies have focused on assessing risks related to a single exposure at a time, yet in reality we are constantly exposed to multiple exposures at the same time. To advance environmental health research and positively impact human health through recommendations and policy, we need to incorporate omics data that capture all chemical species detectable in human plasma over the life course. The exposome offers this framework and can be viewed as the environmental complement of the genome.

This two-day intensive boot camp integrates the principle concepts of exposomics and the untargeted approaches of measuring endogenous and exogenous chemical exposures on an omic scale as we step through the tools and techniques currently available to analyze the exposome. Led by a team of expert scientists in the rapidly growing field of exposomics, the boot camp will integrate seminar lectures with hands-on computer lab sessions to put concepts into practice. Emphasis will be given to leveraging existing resources from ongoing studies and initiating new investigations. The afternoon lab sessions will provide an opportunity to work hands-on with real data. Participants will learn and practice data handling, cleaning, and basic analysis of exposomics data.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be familiar with the following topics:

Principles of exposomics
Concept ideation and study design
Laboratory methods and instrumentation platforms for analysis
Data extraction and cleaning with emphasis on peaks and feature tables
Pathway data analysis and identification databases
Data visualization and network interpretation
Study design advantages and pitfalls
Emerging exposomic topics and laboratory platforms

Audience and Requirements

Investigators at all career stages are welcome to attend, and we particularly encourage trainees and early-stage investigators to participate.

This training is designed to accommodate investigators with varying experience levels in R. Knowing R basics is beneficial to maximize training from the boot camp, but is not necessary for you to strongly engage with training material. Data labs will be offered during the training and are meant to accommodate both beginner and advanced data manipulation, with all material and additional resources available after the training. There are three requirements to attend this training:

Each participant must have an introductory background in statistics.
Each participant is required to have a personal laptop. If you would like to participate in the asynchronous, hands-on data labs offered by the Boot Camp, you will need to have R downloaded and installed as all lab sessions will be done on your personal laptop. R is available for free download and installation on Mac, PC, and Linux devices.
The Boot Camp will provide lab tutorials with data sets in R, therefore we recommend participants have a basic understanding of this platform prior to attending the Boot Camp to get the most out of lab sessions. R knowledge is not required if you do not plan to participate in lab sessions. If you have not used this platform before, step through the tutorials outlined below so you have the basic skills needed for Boot Camp success.

R Tutorials

As noted in the prerequisites above, knowing basic R platform and commands is recommended, but not required, to get the most out of the lab sessions. If you are new to R or need a refresher, review the below tutorials to be well-prepared for the labs:

Download R: R is the free software programming language we will use. Choose the correct version for your laptop: Mac/Windows
Download R studio: R studio is free software that will help us develop programs in R. Choose the correct version for your laptop: Mac/Windows
How to Download R and R studio: A tutorial on how to download R and R Studio
How to Install a Package in R studio: Steps to install a package in R studio
Best tutorial for Boot Camp Prep: R Programming Tutorial - Learn the Basics: A free datalab.cc class on R fundamentals

If you have any specific questions about R and R studio in the context of the Exposome Boot Camp, please email us.

Instructors

Summer 2024 instructing team is being finalized, but will be comparable to the 2023 lineup below.

Training Director: Gary Miller, PhD, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Vice Dean of Research Strategy and Innovation, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Dr. Miller was the founding Director of the HERCULES Center at Emory University, the first exposome-based research center in the U.S. and authored the first book on the topic, The Exposome: A Primer published by Elsevier. His laboratory at Columbia focuses on environmental drivers of neurodegeneration, using several experimental models from cultured neurons and C. elegans to mice and human studies.

Doug Walker, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health at Emory University and adjunct Assistant Professor at Utrecht University. At Emory University, Dr. Walker’s research focuses on continued development and application of advanced analytical strategies for measuring the occurrence, distribution and magnitude of previously unidentified environmental exposures and assisting in delineating the mechanisms underlying environment-related diseases in humans. The approaches he developed show it is possible to measure over 100,000 chemical signals that include exposure biomarkers, nutrients, dietary chemicals and associated biological response in a high-throughput and cost-effective manner, establishing a foundation for operationalizing the exposome framework for precision medicine. Ongoing research projects are now focused on using high-throughput exposome methods to establish disease-exposome atlases, and development of methods for measuring biomarkers of complex exposures of emerging concern, including microplastics, e-waste and polyfluorinated chemicals.

Xin Hu, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Emory University. Dr. Hu was trained in metabolomics and integrative omics with over 15 years of research experience in environmental health and molecular pulmonary toxicology. She is experienced with analyzing and integrating high-dimensional datasets in experimental and populational research. Her research employs a multidisciplinary approach, utilizing metabolomics, exposomics, bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, as well as epigenomics, to unravel the molecular dysregulation underlying environmental factors' impact on lung pathology.

Dean Jones, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Emory University.

Shuzhao Li, PhD, Principal Investogator, The Jackson Laboratory

Vrinda Kalia

Jeff Xia, PhD, Assistant Professor Institute of Parasitology and Department of Animal Science, Associate member Microbiology and Immunology Jeffs research focuses is on big data analytics (metabolomics, RNAseq, microbiomics, chemoinformatics and biological networks) to understand gene-environment interactions, within the context of diet, microbiome, infectious agents and environmental chemicals.

Randolph Singh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Enviornmental Sciences, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health Randolph Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. His primary focus lies at the intersection of human health, environmental health, and analytical chemistry.

Scholarships

Training scholarships are available for the Exposome Boot Camp.

Location

Summer 2024: The Exposome Boot Camp is a live, in-person training taking place July 18-19 at the Columbia University Irving Medical Campus in NYC. All training start and end times are in EDT.

More information on travel, lodging, and getting around NYC.

Testimonials

"This was a great introduction to the field of exposomics! The practical application of the methodology through labs helped to demystify how one might begin to engage in this field and collaborate with others." - Faculty Member at University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2024

"I came in knowing very little about the Exposome and was blown away! Faculty are extremely knowledgeable and helped me apply the technology to my project." - Faculty Member at University of Florida, 2024

"The Exposome Boot Camp provided access to solid experiential learning activities and lectures by leaders in this relatively nascent but rapidly growing field of exposure science. If you're interested in the field of exposure science and its relationship to understanding environmental health outcomes, I strongly recommend it." - Faculty Member at North Carolina State University, 2024

Additional Testimonials

"Fantastic introductory overview of the theory and methods of exposomic research". - Assistant Professor, Keck School of Medicine, USC 2023

"The Exposome Boot Camp provides a great overview of the burgeoning field of exposomics and opportunities for hands on practice with key exposomic techniques. " - Assistant Professor, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, 2023

"This was a very thorough overview of the Exposome field, inclusive of what's been done and what needs to get done to advance the field. Not only did I learn a lot, I also feel better equipped to tackle questions related to the Exposome in my own work!" - Doctoral Student, Columbia University, 2023

"This boot camp was taught by world-class experts in the area and exceeded my expectations. Highly recommended it to epidemiologists (and other scientists) interested in incorporating exposomics/metabolomics into their research." - Trainee at the NIH, 2022

"A great introduction to the field of Exposomic Research. Includes lots of information of the history of the field, on-going studies and what is needed to be developed to move the field further." - Academic Staff member at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 2022

"The boot camp was very informative comprehensive overview of the exposome. It included great lab-to-data-analysis pipeline. It was nice to listen to innovative forward-thinking scientists from all over the globe. Great debate regarding pros and cons of the exposome technology." - Ghada S., Faculty member at City University of New York, School of Public Health, 2021

"This workshop was an excellent introduction to the concept and application of the exposome. I would highly recommend to colleagues. I am new to the "exposome" concept and I felt the training was accessible for less experienced folks like me while providing more rich information to allow the application of the tools in a more intermediate/advanced way." - Anna R., Postdoc at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 2021

"Great way to know the basic concepts, state-of-the-art approaches, weaknesses and strengths from the world´s top scientists in the field." - Carlos M., Faculty member at Universidad de Chile, 2021

"This Boot Camp is the perfect combination of a general overview with an in-depth analysis." - Student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2021

"The content is new, novel and timely as more fundamental understanding of our environment's role in healthcare outcomes are being investigated." - Academic/Non-Profit Staff member at the Mayo Clinic, 2020

"Very well organized overview of this fascinating and growing field of study. It was very helpful to enlist national and international experts in Exposomics to reflect the breadth of impact and applicability of this field. For any researcher studying non-monogenic diseases, this is an essential course for creating a framework that encompasses all non-genetic determinants of disease in a comprehensive fashion." - Setty M., Fellow at the NIH, 2020

"Very enlightening training! It not only showed me the cutting edge of the exposomics field but also provided me with essential hands-on training." - Ning S., Staff Member at Exposomics Precision Medicine (Shanghai) Co., 2020

"This was an excellent introduction to the exposome. I entered the bootcamp - run by leaders in the field - a novice and left equipped with an undoubtedly useful working knowledge that will allow me articulate the utility of the exposome to my peers while incorporating the various methodologies into my research program." - Chandra J., Faculty member at the NIH, 2020

"This bootcamp was very inspiring, motivational, and eye-opening. We learnt about the big picture, and also the actual hands-on analysis." - Dandi Q., Faculty member at Harvard Medical School, 2020

"It provided helpful tips and insights for someone who is just dipping their toes in the field of exposomics. I was able to start thinking about my own research in a more purposeful manner, and feel as though I have (virtually) met some experts who would be very happy to answer my questions as I progress through my research." - Student at Rutgers University, 2020

"This boot camp provided me with a comprehensive training on exposome, including instrumental analysis, data processing, and applications in different research areas. What I learned in exposome boot camp will definitely help my on going research." - Postdoc Fellow at the University of Kentucky, 2020

This camp was fantastic and is a must for epidemiologists at all levels of training considering exposome studies." - Christy A., Faculty member at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2020

"Nice overview of lab-to-data-analysis pipeline of the -OMICs components of the exposome, and the latest and greatest tools to perform these types of studies." - Postdoc Fellow at the University of Arizona, 2020

The Exposome Boot Camp presents a fascinating introduction to the paradigm shifting field of exposome research, and provides the practical tools and hands-on experience necessary to begin contributing to the field. - Danielle M., Postdoc at Princeton University, 2019

This was an excellent workshop with a combination of experts with both a strong biological and environmental focus, ideal for exposome research, but applicable to other omics style work in general. - Anonymous Faculty member, 2019

The presentations and labs were all fantastic, and I learned so much in a short period of time; it was a really successful way to distill a complex topic. - Briana D., Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, 2019

Great experience overall! I found it very seamless and well-organized. A packed 2-day experience with plenty of learning and a great balance of networking and exploring collaborations. - Anonymous Student, 2019

I thought the Boot Camp did a great job of balancing very basic information and detail, providing a very nice "in-depth overview." - Jennifer C., Researcher at IRET, National University in Costa Rica, 2019

I thought this was an amazing bootcamp taught by some truly innovative and forward-thinking scientists. It has a wide-ranging scope and scientists from many branches of science can really benefit from it. - Anonymous Postdoc, 2019

It was a great opportunity to get to learn new ways to implement exposomics. It was also an opportunity to get to know and exchange with new people about our respective work. - Jade C., PhD Student at EHESP - French School of Public Health, 2019

Great overview of this burgeoning field from leading experts in exposome research. Would recommend to anyone who is new to this area of research as a good introduction and opportunity to establish collaborations. - Anonymous Postdoc, 2019

This boot camp provided an excellent opportunity to learn about many topics related to the exposome from leading scholars in the field. Instructors were incredibly accessible and dedicated to familiarizing the audience with both concepts and and practical tools. - PhD Student, 2019

The Exposome Boot Camp was a really valuable experience. I learned more about un-targeted mass spec data processing tools available and how they could be used for metabolomics. The Boot Camp offered a unique opportunity to network with people from other fields that are also interested in the exposome. - Kate M., Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University, 2019

Registration Fees

	Early-Bird Rate (through 5/10/24)	Regular Rate (5/11/24 - 7/11/24)	Columbia Discount*
Student/Postdoc/Trainee	$1,195	$1,395	10%
Faculty/Academic Staff/Non-Profit Organizations/Government Agencies	$1,395	$1,595	10%
Corporate/For-Profit Organizations	$1,595	$1,795	NA

*Columbia Discount: This discount is valid for any active student, postdoc, staff, or faculty at Columbia University. If paying by credit card, use your Columbia email address during the registration process to automatically have the discount applied. If paying by internal transfer within Columbia, submit this Columbia Internal Transfer Request form to receive further instructions. Please note: filling out this form is not the same as registering for a training and does not guarantee a training seat.

Invoice Payment: If you would prefer to pay by invoice/check, please submit this Invoice Request form to receive further instructions. Please note: filling out this form is not the same as registering for a training and does not guarantee a training seat.

Registration Fee: This fee includes course material, breakfast, and lunch on training days. Course material will be made available to all participants both during and after the conclusion of the training. The fee does not include travel/accommodation costs.

Cancellations: Cancellation notices must be received via email at least 30 days prior to the training start date in order to receive a full refund, minus a $75 administrative fee. Cancellation notices received via email 14-29 days prior to the training will receive a 75% refund, minus a $75 administrative fee. Please email your cancellation notice to Columbia.Exposome@gmail.com. Due to workshop capacity and preparation, we regret that we are unable to refund registration fees for cancellations <14days prior to the training.

If you are unable to attend the training, we encourage you to send a substitute within the same registration category. Please inform us of the substitute via email at least one week prior to the training to include them on attendee communications, updated registration forms, and materials. Should the substitute fall within a different registration category your credit card will be credited/charged respectively. Please email substitute inquiries to Columbia.Exposome@gmail.com. In the event Columbia must cancel the event, your registration fee will be fully refunded.