Metabolism

Metabolism is the integration of all chemical reactions in our body. Metabolic processes control how we use or store energy and nutrients from food, and how we create, modify, or degrade biologically active small molecules. Inherited or acquired defects in metabolism can lead directly to disease — ranging from rare, lethal genetic disorders to major public health problems such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Credit: Louisa Howard

Transmission electron microscope image of a mitochondria.

The goal of the Broad Metabolism Program (BMP) is to pioneer new methods to systematically investigate metabolism and exploit the resulting discoveries to decipher the metabolic basis of human disease, leading to better treatments or interventions.

BMP is a highly collaborative network with close connections to the Broad’s Metabolomics Platform, as well as the Genomics Platform, the Proteomics Platform, and the Center for the Development of Therapeutics. Many BMP investigators are based at relevant clinical units in affiliated hospitals, and also participate in other institute efforts such as the Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, the Kidney Disease Initiative, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease.