Pee is key. Yes, that’s right. Body waste could be the pathway to better diagnosing and treating multiple forms of cancer, as well as pinpointing various forms of toxicity in our watersheds and fish populations.
Confused? Welcome to the world of metabolomics, where Aalim Weljie and Hans Vogel in the Department of Biological Sciences have been leading a group of researchers in this experimental technique for six years.
“We measure concentrations of naturally occurring small molecules (called metabolites) that are present in blood, urine and tissues,” says Weljie. “We’re looking for a pattern, or fingerprint, in the biological sample that can be used to learn about the ‘health’ of the organism.”
Metabolomics is highly interdisciplinary and is becoming widely used in biology, medicine and the environmental sciences for studying living organisms.
Weljie has parlayed his biochemistry background into helping unlock the secret around one of the most pervasive and worrisome human afflictions—cancer. No two cancer cells are alike, so identifying their unique qualities and charting their mutations gives doctors a better chance of battling even the grimmest forms of the disease.
More Metabolic patterns could unlock cancer | U Magazine.
Earlier: Alim Weljie in U Magazine
Ismailimail 
Aalim M. Weljie, PhD, Assistant Professor, has subsequently transitioned to UPenn, where his work continues and peer-reviewed publications continue at a fantastic clip. Find out his latest at the following link:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g275/p8555925
Do note that this blog posting incorrectly identifies Aalim as having an academic rank of professor. Inshallah that will happen in time, but it is not the case at this point in this, his early phase, of what promises to be a fantastic research career.
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