USF’s Oxidative Stress Group (OSG), which is housed in the Department of Molecular Biosciences (MBS) in the College of Arts and Sciences, is leading an international consortium to bring together researchers and other stakeholders who have interests in nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) and protein adductomics.
Dr. Marcus Cooke, professor and chair of the USF Department of Molecular Biosciences. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Marcus Cooke)
Launched in September 2023 at the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society 54th Annual Meeting in Chicago, the goal of the International Adductomics Consortium (IAC) is to promote collaboration, establish guidelines for best practices, and become a recognized entity contributing to our understanding of the exposome.
With more than 25 members from around the world, Dr. Marcus S. Cooke, professor and chair of MBS, leads the steering committee comprising faculty from the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Université Cote d'Azur (France), and Nihon University (Japan).
Under Cooke’s guidance, the OSG is comprised of several other members including a post-doctoral fellow, four PhD candidates, and three undergraduate students. This group acts as the coordinating center for IAC.
“We actively recruit new members and via maintenance of the website we collate and disseminate adductomics-related information to our members and prospective members. We will also be responsible for the circulation of chemical and biological materials to participating labs as part of inter-laboratory validation studies,” explained Cooke.
“I had the initial idea for IAC, but then firmed up the idea in conjunction with IAC committee member Bill Funk at Northwestern University. We then went on to agree on the steering committee,” he said. “I plan to help maintain the momentum for IAC activities and, on behalf of the IAC, I have indicated our support for several grant proposals, which is more powerful than multiple individual groups – we are working as a consortium.”
Disseminating the information and goals of the IAC will be continuously released through a variety of publications and guest editorial spots in well-recognized journals.
A student working in the USF Oxidative Stress Group lab. (Photo by Alessandra Casanova)
“Most risk factors for chronic and complex diseases, including cancer, are related to exposure to environmental agents and the generation of reactive chemicals within our cells throughout an individual’s lifespan (this is called the exposome). Such exposures may result in damage (adducts) to cellular biomolecules which can have detrimental consequences for the cell leading to disease,” Cooke explained. “Adductomics is a powerful technique that assesses all the adducts within a specimen helping dissect the complexity of the exposome.”
Cooke hopes the IAC’s findings and improved guidelines will push the field of adductomics, allowing individuals to better identify and understand the disease-causing chemicals in the exposome to mitigate the risk of exposure and, thus, disease.