Synopsis

Much of what we understand about cellular metabolism has come from research by cancer biologists, who have known since the time of Otto Warburg that metabolic alterations go hand in hand with transformation. Building from this knowledge, in more recent years it has come into focus that many different tissues and cell types undergo metabolic changes that directly impact their function and differentiation. As such, correct metabolic re-wiring is beneficial and a requirement for appropriate cellular function, while aberrant metabolic reprogramming can lead to inappropriate function and have implications on a wide variety of disease states. In this meeting we aim to bring together researchers from different areas of biology, that may otherwise have little crossover, but for their common interest in how metabolism impacts cell differentiation and function.

Topics will span diverse areas such as cancer metabolism, organismal metabolism in disease, metabolic pathway engagement in cell function, metabolites as signaling molecules, mitochondrial biology, nutrient sensing, metabolism in tissue homeostasis and repair, neurometabolism, and metabolism in host-microbe interactions. This interdisciplinary meeting will bring together researchers working on immunity, metabolism, cancer, stem cells, neurobiology, and host-microbe interactions to gain a more integrated understanding of how metabolism impacts health and disease, with the aim of moving research in the field forward.

Student Offer

Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity for students! Register an academic at the early bird rate and bring a student for only $750. Unfortunately, Postdocs are not eligible. Both registration packages include; accommodation for the 10, 11, 12 May 2021 (on a shared basis for students) and a food and beverage package for the conference period. Academic registrations must be completed by 13 December 2020 . Once registered, please contact Emily Meen to obtain a special registration link for your student

Target Audience

We anticipate that the meeting will lead to the adoption of new technologies that will accelerate the rate of discovery in the field, encourage new collaborations between laboratories that may not have had previous interactions, and promote a focus on translational applications.  We expect attendees to emerge from the meeting with a clearer picture of how these different disciplines come together to shape our understanding of how metabolism impacts health and disease. We also expect that this meeting will help illuminate new areas of research in the field, and identify critical gaps in our knowledge that need further study in order to move the field forward. We plan for this meeting to be an exceptional opportunity for students, postdocs, and junior group leaders to meet more senior scientists and foster interactions that will increase their chances of success.

Educational Need

Attendees will leave the meeting with a stronger understanding of how metabolism in a variety of cell types and tissues impacts health and disease. We hope that researchers from diverse biological disciplines, such as those who study cancer and those who study immunology, will as a result of their interactions, forge new collaborations founded in their mutual appreciation that engagement of particular metabolic pathways shapes cell function and fate. Given the resurgence that metabolism has seen in recent years, we think our meeting will appeal broadly to many researchers across a variety of disciplines, many of whom are interested in investigating metabolic changes in their particular systems

Learning Objectives

Our goals are:

• To integrate biologists that have a common interest in how metabolism impacts health and disease.
• To raise awareness of the metabolic intersection between a variety of organ systems, tissues, and cells.
• To encourage junior researchers to actively participate at this interface.
• To highlight new techniques and approaches in the field in a way to make the science accessible to people with relatively little background in any one specific area.