2024 Immunometabolism in Health and Disease Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

SUMMARY The 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Immunometabolism in Health and Disease will be the second GRC on the interface of cellular metabolism and immunity (or “immunometabolism”), a cutting-edge, emerging field in immunology. Cellular metabolism serves as both a fundamental mechanistic driver of and intervenable therapeutic target in infectious, allergic, and other immune-mediated diseases. The realization that metabolism is reprogrammed during the immune response and that bioenergetic and other metabolites are ‘repurposed’ to modulate immune functions has led to a recent paradigm shift. As this young and interdisciplinary field accelerates, there is a critical need to convene experts and trainees alike. To this end, we are holding a meeting at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island from June 16–21, 2024. We are assembling international experts, both from academia and industry, on the role of cellular metabolism in the programming of myeloid and lymphoid immune cells in immunity and disease, and thus expect to foment productive, high-level discussions and collaborations, as well as significant interest among early-career investigators and trainees. Among the Specific Aims of our meeting are presentation of cutting-edge unpublished science, discussion and resolution of current controversies in the field, identification/prioritization of unmet needs in the field, stimulation of new collaborations, and provision of a comfortable and productive forum for trainees and early-stage investigations to learn and share their findings. Starting with a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) organized by and focused on trainee and early-stage investigators for scientific presentations and career development, the Co-Chairs, Drs. Catherine "Lynn" Hedrick and Jeffrey Rathmell and Vice Chairs Drs. Ping-Chi Ho and Nancie MacIver have planned nine oral sessions to promote dialogue among established leaders in immunometabolism and emerging experts ranging from trainees to early-career scientists. Each session will also include short talks from abstracts submitted to the GRC. Session 1 – Principles of Immunometabolism. Session 2 - T Cell Immunometabolism. Session 3 – Inflammation and Autoimmunity. Session 4 – Metabolic Control of Innate Immunity. Session 5 – Microbiome Influence on Metabolism and Immunity. Session 6 – Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. Session 7 – Obesity and Aging in Cancer. Session 8 – Tumor Microenvironment. Session 9 – Translating Immunometabolism. Invited speakers and discussion leaders are diverse and inclusive, including women (55%), early-stage investigators (24%), underrepresented minority groups (10%), international experts from five countries outside the US (13%), with 66% new to this GRC. The focus of our conference will advance understanding of infectious, allergic, and immune-mediated diseases, and we are honored to invite NIH administration officials as attendees. Our meeting agenda addresses diverse topics related to the crosstalk between immunity and metabolism in myeloid and lymphoid cells in immune-mediated diseases, including infection, allergy, autoimmunity, cancer, atherosclerosis, obesity, and diabetes.