Obesity is more than a global health epidemic. It’s also a major risk factor for insulin resistance and diabetes.
“Understanding obesity and the pathogenesis of obesity are critically important for understanding and treating these conditions,” said Erin E. Kershaw, MD, Chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. “The Scientific Sessions includes exciting sessions that explore three key aspects of obesity pathogenesis: how we study it, how we identify and characterize new contributing factors, and how we incorporate new knowledge to revise traditional theories of obesity pathogenesis.”
Erin E. Kershaw, MD
Dr. Kershaw is the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee member planning sessions in the area of obesity/pathogenesis of obesity. She recommended a handful of obesity-related sessions:
4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Saturday, June 10
System-Based Approaches to Obesity Pathogenesis
“Experts in systems biology will present their approaches to integrating diverse biological signals to identify new networks contributing to obesity in the whole organism.”
4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. Monday, June 12
Novel Metabolites and Mediators of Energy and Metabolic Homeostasis
“We will explore data linking various metabolites and mediators to obesity pathogenesis.”
7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 13
A Modern Update of Thrifty Genes, Set Points, and Other Models of Obesity Pathogenesis
“New data will shed light on historical models of pathogenesis.”
In Vivo Animal Metabolism
“Scientific Sessions is a good mixture of clinical and pre-clinical work,” said Darleen Sandoval, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan, who planned sessions in the area of metabolism, in vivo (animals), on the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee. “As a basic scientist, you get to see great research from leaders in the field, as well as the best clinical research. Clinicians have the opportunity to understand more about the mechanisms of disease, and mechanisms of actions of the drugs they’re using.”
Darleen Sandoval, PhD
Dr. Sandoval recommended these sessions related to the metabolism:
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Friday, June 9
The Role of the Intestinal Immune System in Metabolic Disease
“A lot of work has been focused on the role of the microbiota in metabolic disease. There’s even more interesting work coming out focusing on how shifts in microbial populations impact metabolic disease and how we might manipulate the microbiome to treat metabolic disease.”
2:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m. Sunday, June 11
Factors Influencing Epigenetic Plasticity in the Development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
“This session will focus on the current understanding of the mechanisms by which lifestyle factors, including over- and undernutrition, physical activity, stress, and toxins affect the epigenetic landscape of type 2 diabetes. DNA methylation, histone modifications, and gene silencing processes such as microRNAs and long-coding RNAs may modulate epigenetic change.”
2:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m. Monday
Antidiabetic Actions of Leptin in Insulin-Deficient Animal Models
“There are multiple studies suggesting that leptin can regulate glucose homeostasis in an insulin-independent fashion. This action appears to operate through the central nervous system, perhaps the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or nuclear transcription receptors in the brain.”
Rachael Van Pelt, PhD
In Vivo Human Metabolism
“In physiology research, we learn so much about how humans respond differently than animal models to the same perturbations,” noted Rachael Van Pelt, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, who planned sessions in the area of metabolism, in vivo (humans), on the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee. “If you want comprehensive insight into how interventions work and whether pharmaceuticals work, studies must be done in clinical populations and in vivo. It’s critical that scientists and clinicians fully understand the human physiology of diabetes.”
Dr. Van Pelt recommended the following sessions:
1:45 p.m.–3:45 p.m. Saturday
The Good and the Bad of Glucagon Physiology and Therapeutics
“This will be an outstanding session on the physiology of glucagon and the impact of glucagon-based therapeutics, with a focus on in vivo human studies.”
8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Sunday
State of the Science—Molecular Transducers of Lifestyle Interventions to Health Benefits
“This is the hottest symposium in our theme area this year. It’s intended to set the stage for the upcoming Common Fund Initiative from the NIH, the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans, or MoTrPAC. Studies across seven clinical centers will identify just what factors are involved in transmitting the benefits of physical activity into better health. This symposium will provide an update on what we know going into the Common Fund Initiative.”
4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. Sunday
Liver Fat and Metabolic Function—Obesity, Gene, and Gut Interactions
“Almost everyone with type 2 diabetes has some degree of fatty liver. New data presented in this symposium explores how genetic and epigenetic factors contribute to the negative impact of fatty liver and, we believe, protect some individuals against fatty liver to different degrees.”
