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.

Ana Navas-Acien, M.D., Ph.D., is a Leon Hess Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Her research and practice focus 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 in Spain. Dr. Navas-Acien completed her residency training in preventive medicine and public health at the Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain, and her Ph.D. in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 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 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, Dr. Navas-Acien serves as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board and is also an elected member of the Association of American Physicians.