The Exposome

The Exposome: A Primer is the first book dedicated to exposomics, detailing the purpose and scope of this emerging field of study, its practical applications and how it complements a broad range of disciplines. Genetic causes account for up to a third of all complex diseases. (As genomic approaches improve, this is likely to rise.) Environmental factors also influence human disease but, unlike with genetics, there is no standard or systematic way to measure the influence of environmental exposures. The exposome is an emerging concept that hopes to address this, measuring the effects of life-long environmental exposures on health and how these exposures can influence disease.

This systematic introduction considers topics of managing and integrating exposome data (including maps, models, computation, and systems biology), "-omics"-based technologies, and more. Both students and scientists in disciplines including toxicology, environmental health, epidemiology, and public health will benefit from this rigorous yet readable overview.

The intended audience for this book is graduate students and professional scientists interested in environmental mediators of disease. These include students and scientists from such disciplines as toxicology, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, genetics, public health, medicine, and nursing

Dedication

Preface

Chapter 1. The Exposome: Purpose, Definition, and Scope

1.1 Why a Primer?

1.2 What is the Exposome?

1.3 Darwin Would Be Proud

1.4 If it is So Obvious, Why This Book?

1.5 Environmental Health Practitioners

1.6 The Exposome as an Educational Tool

1.7 Discussion Questions

Further Reading

Chapter 2. When the Genome Falls Short: Limitations of a Gene-Centric View of Health

2.1 DNA, No Longer a Secret

2.2 The Gene Versus Environment Continuum

2.3 A Dangerous Metaphor?

2.4 ENCODE Project

2.5 Epigenetics: A Clear Gene–Environment Interface

2.6 Obstacles and Opportunities

2.7 Discussion Questions

Further Reading

Chapter 3. The Explosion of -Omic-Based Technology and its Impact on the Exposome

3.1 The Science of “Me, Too”

3.2 Transcriptome

3.3 Proteome

3.4 Pharmacogenomics/Toxicogenomics

3.5 Epigenomics

3.6 Metabolome

3.7 Microbiome

3.8 What to Do with All of These -Omes

3.9 What Type of Omic is the Exposome?

3.10 Obstacles and Opportunities

3.11 Discussion Questions

Further Reading

Chapter 4. The Exposome in Environmental Health Sciences and Related Disciplines

4.1 Welcome Home Exposome

4.2 Toxicology—Mechanisms of Toxicity

4.3 Exposure Science (or Assessment, or Biology)

4.4 Epidemiology and the Exposome

4.5 Global Epidemiology

4.6 Pesticides as an Example of Strained Relationships

4.7 Obstacles and Opportunities

4.8 Discussion Questions

Further Reading

Chapter 5. Managing and Integrating Exposome Data: Maps, Models, Computation, and Systems Biology

5.1 Maps, Models, and Technology

5.2 Mapping

5.3 Big Data, Really Big

5.4 I am so Smart, S-M-R-T

5.5 Mathematical Modeling

5.6 Models

5.7 Predicting Predictions

5.8 Obstacles and Opportunities

5.9 Discussion Questions

Further Reading

Chapter 6. The Practical Exposome: Education at the University and Community Level

6.1 Immediate Practical Utility

6.2 The Modifiable Exposome

6.3 Behaviors, Mandates, and Nudges

6.4 Academic Education: The Exposome in the Ivory Tower

6.5 Introducing the Exposome as a Single Lecture

6.6 The Exposome as a Unit Within a Course

6.7 The Exposome as the Basis for an Entire Course

6.8 The Exposome Outside of the Classroom

6.9 Obstacles and Opportunities

6.10 Discussion Questions

Further Reading

Chapter 7. Staging the Exposome: A Vision for International Collaboration

7.1 Measuring the Exposome

7.2 What is in Us? What is Near Us? Does it Matter?

7.3 A Basis in Biology

7.4 It Has Already Started

7.5 So What are the Exposome Deliverables?

7.6 Gene × Environment × Grants

7.7 An Exposome Index

7.8 A Human Exposome Project?

7.9 Obstacles and Opportunities

7.10 Discussion Questions

Further Reading