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LIPID MAPS®

LIPID MAPS®
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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About

Launched: 2003
Record Updated: Sep 30, 2026
Annotations system
Data resource
Persistent identifier service
LIPID Metabolites And Pathways Strategy (LIPID MAPS®) is a multi-institutional supported website and database that provides access to a large number of globally used lipidomics resources. LIPID MAPS® has internationally led the field of lipid curation, classification, and nomenclature since 2003. We strive to produce new open-access databases, informatics tools and lipidomics-focused training activities will be generated and made publicly available for researchers studying lipids in health and disease.

Domain Relevance

  • Agricultural biotechnology
  • Animal and dairy science
  • Basic medicine
  • Biological sciences
  • Clinical medicine
  • Environmental biotechnology
  • Health sciences
  • Other agricultural sciences
  • Other medical sciences
  • Veterinary science

Mission

This current phase will see that LIPID MAPS is maintained and importantly, further developed in line with the global demand and development of lipidomics. LIPID MAPS has an internationally recognized classification system and the largest curated lipid structure database in the world. LIPID MAPS supports researchers to conduct integrative systems-level analyses of lipidomics in physiology and pathophysiology.

Key Achievements

LIPID MAPS continues to generate tools and resources that address the emerging area of Systems Lipidomics, with new open-access databases, informatics tools and lipidomics-focused training activities being generated and made publicly available for researchers studying lipids in health and disease.

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Open API

Implemented
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Open Data Statement

Implemented
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Technical Attribute Statements

Programming Languages

  • perl
  • php
  • python

Technology Readiness Level

  • Actual system proven in operational environment

Content Licensing

  • Creative commons licenses
  • Traditional copyright

Standards

Metadata

  • REST
  • SPARQL
Other:
The LIPID MAPS classification, nomenclature, and structure drawing conventions represent community standards, adopted by researchers and journals worldwide. Lipid structures are curated with metadata in line with this. Lipids are represented as MOL files and stored with Canonical SMILES, InChI and InChIKey representations (community interoperability standards). Extensive metadata included with curated lipids includes systematic name, synonyms, exact mass, qualified links to other database entries and their IDs, abbreviations, physicochemical properties and reactions. The organism is recorded using the NCBI Taxonomy ontology.

Persistent Identifier

LM_ID

Community Engagement

Community Engagement

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute to education or training
  • Contribute to user research or user testing
  • Contribute to working groups or interest groups

Community Engagement Activities

  • Blogs
  • Conference participation
  • Interest, working, user, or advisory groups
  • Mailing lists and discussion forums (including Slack)
  • Social media
  • User research
  • Webinars and training

Engagement with Values Frameworks

  • FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Data Management and Stewardship

Additional Information

Organizational History

LIPID MAPS Lipidomics Gateway was created in 2003 via an NIH “Glue Grant” to provide access to lipid nomenclature, databases, tools, protocols, standards, tutorials, meetings, publications, and other resources to serve the international lipid research community.
LIPID MAPS was previously funded by a multi-institutional grant from Wellcome and is now funded under an MRC Partnership award, held jointly by Cardiff University, University of California San Diego, the Babraham Institute Cambridge, Swansea University, and The University of Edinburgh.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Distributed institutional partnership

Full-time Staff

1-5

Volunteers

0

Current Affiliations

Cardiff University
University of California San Diego
Babraham Institute Cambridge
Swansea University
The University of Edinburgh

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Other
Grant funding

Revenue Sources

  • Corporate sponsorship
  • Grants (public)
  • In-kind contributions

Fiscal Host

Cardiff University
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