A metabolomics platform based on targeted metabolic profiling is under construction at Duke University. The concept requires quantitative analysis of circumscribed groups of analytes, including fatty acids, phospholipids, acylcarnitines, organic acids, cytokines and other groups, followed by data analysis and the mapping of results onto biochemical pathways. Examples of the application of this targeted approach include disease biomarker discovery and analysis, discovery of new disorders in mice and zebrafish induced by both specific and random mutagenesis, discovery of potential pre-diabetic biomarkers, also markers related to weight loss in obese subjects under various regimens.