The Human Metallome: Keys to Healthy Aging

Robert S. Gordon Jr. Lecture | Wednesday, May 6, 2026 | 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET

Ana Navas-Acien, M.D., Ph.D., MPH

Leon Hess Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

an2737@cumc.columbia.edu

Website

Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD is Leon Hess Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Her research and practice focuses on the health effects of environmental exposures, molecular pathways, and interventions for addressing pollution and related-health effects. She trained in Medicine at the University of Granada, Spain, and completed her residency training in Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Hospital La Paz, Madrid and her PhD in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. She directs the Columbia University Northern Plains Superfund Research Program, a center that integrates science, technology, and traditional knowledge to protect the Northern Plains water resources and Indigenous communities from hazardous metal exposures and leads the exposures working group for the CKDu CURE consortium, a collaborative research consortium investigating chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology in agricultural communities. Among other advisory committees and roles, she serves as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board and is also an elected member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP).

Summary

Metals and metalloids are fundamental to human biology, shaping cellular function, metabolism, and resilience across the life course. At the same time, chronic exposure to toxic metals contributes to oxidative stress, inflammation, and accelerated aging, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, cognitive decline, and other age-related conditions. This lecture introduces the concept of the human metallome—the integrated profile of essential and toxic metals in the body—and its emerging role as a determinant of healthy aging. Drawing on large population studies, including the Strong Heart Study and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), as well as evidence from the TACT2 randomized chelation trial, this talk will highlight how metal mixtures influence aging-related pathways and disease risk, and how these effects vary across populations and stages of life. Advances in metallomics now enable high-precision measurement of trace elements across biospecimens, allowing deeper insight into metal homeostasis, dysregulation, and intervention targets. By integrating observational and interventional evidence, this lecture will discuss how understanding the human metallome can inform prevention strategies, clinical decision-making, and environmental health policies aimed at promoting longer, healthier lives.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the human metallome and explain how both essential and toxic metals interact with biological systems to influence aging, cardiometabolic health, and chronic disease risk.
• Illustrate the role of metallomics in population and clinical research using examples from the Strong Heart Study, MESA, and the TACT2 randomized trial to highlight observational and interventional evidence.
• Discuss translational implications of metallome research for prevention strategies, clinical practice, and environmental health policy to promote healthy aging across populations.