Since its inception in 1985, the goals of the Kern Lipid Conference have been to promote metabolic science and increase understanding of metabolic pathobiology. The conference strives to provide an inclusive, open forum for both established and young emerging scientists from academia and industry. The 2020 Kern Lipid Conference will have the theme ?Therapeutic Aspects of Adipose Tissue Organ Crosstalk,? and is co- chaired by Philipp Scherer, James McManaman, and John Stafford. The 2020 conference?s goal is to provide a dynamic interactive environment that leads to novel insights into disease mechanisms involving therapeutic aspects of adipose metabolism and cell and organ system interactions that mediate pathophysiological mechanisms, and the sex dependence of common human diseases, including obesity, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis, and other associated conditions such as immune system modulation. The program will cover basic cell biological processes such as intracellular lipid trafficking all the way into translational and clinical research into novel therapeutics for cardiometabolic disorders. Intensive daily sessions with 22 confirmed speakers will be enriched with 7 young investigator talks, an evening poster session along with an evening discussion about how collaborations between industry and academia can move science and medicine forward. Group breakfasts, lunches, breaks, and a closing dinner on the premises promote interactions between participants. Idea exchange is maximized by allocating ample time for questions after didactic presentations and through fostering discussion by session chairs and other attending Kern board members. The Conference traditionally attracts early career scientists (~40%) and established scholars from academics, as well as creative scientists from industry. Participation of young scientists is strongly promoted by including them among the invited speakers. In 2020, three early careers investigators will be particularly highlighted with awards: The Journal of Lipid Research (JLR) Junior Investigator Award will go to an accomplished early career scientist to be determined, and two other young investigators will be selected as recipients of the competitive prestigious awards, the David L Williams and Roger Davis Lectureships. The setting and meeting format which facilitate interaction and discussion, the confirmed participation of internationally recognized authorities (e.g. C Ronald Kahn, Vishwa Dixit, Samuel Klein, Orian Shirhai, David Guertin, Karen Reue) inclusion of young emerging stars (e.g. Deborah Koonen, Lydia Lynch and Gregory Steinberg) and translational researchers (Bei Zhang and Ruth Gimeno), make it likely that novel insights into disease mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for cardio- metabolic disease and associated comorbidities will emerge from the 2020 Conference.
The Kern Lipid Conference has traditionally promoted metabolic science and increased understanding of metabolic pathobiology. The 2020 Kern Lipid Conference will have the theme ?Therapeutic Aspects of Adipose Tissue Organ Crosstalk.? The program will cover the major mechanisms by which fatty tissue (adipose), and its interactions with the immune and other organ systems, impact development of obesity-related disases including diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease in presentations by internationally recognized scientists and emerging early career investigators.
