Our Speakers
Aaron Cypress
National Institute of Health
Physician-Scientist
Aaron Cypress is a physician-scientist at the National Institutes of Health whose research integrates imaging, metabolism, and translational approaches to understand how thermogenic fat impacts cardiometabolic health.
Alexander Banks
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,
Harvard University
Professor
Alexander Banks is a professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who studies how genetic, pharmacological, nutritional, and environmental factors influence the development of obesity and metabolic disorders.
Ana Domingos
Oxford University
Professor
Ana Domingos is a professor at the University of Oxford studying
how innervation of adipose tissue as a mechanism controls fat mass and defining neural regulation of obesity.
Barbara Cannon
Stockholm University
Emerita Professor
Barbara Cannon is an emerita professor at Stockholm University and
a world leader in adipose tissue biology whose work helped establish the modern understanding of UCP1-dependent non-shivering thermogenesis.
Barbara Kahn
Harvard University
Professor
Barbara Kahn is a professor at Harvard Medical School whose seminal discoveries have transformed understanding of insulin resistance and adipocyte biology.
Edward Chouchani
Harvard University
Professor
Edward Chouchani is a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute whose research uses chemical biology and
metabolomics to uncover redox-regulated metabolic pathways.
Jennifer Thompson
University of Calgary
Assistant Professor
Jennifer Thompson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary whose research centers on uncovering how environmental exposures influence cardiometabolic health throughout the lifespan.
Joerg Heeren
University of Hamburg
Professor
Joerg Heeren is a professor at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf whose research focuses on how brown adipose tissue regulates whole-body energy metabolism. His work uses metabolite flux analysis and nutrient-trafficking approaches to define how adipose–organ communication shapes systemic energy balance.
John Speakman
Schenzhen Institute of Advance Technology,
University of Aberdeen
Distinguished Professor
John Speakman is a distinguished professor at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology and the University of Aberdeen whose work has defined fundamental principles of energy expenditure, obesity evolution, and metabolic physiology.
Kirsty Spalding
Karolinska Institute
Senior Researcher
Kirsty Spalding is a senior researcher at the Karolinska Institute whose groundbreaking work uses radiocarbon dating and single-cell approaches to map human adipocyte turnover and fat tissue remodeling.
Mary Ellen Harper
University of Ottawa
Professor
Mary Ellen Harper is a professor at the University of Ottawa and a leader in mitochondrial bioenergetics, specializing in how oxidative metabolism and thermogenic pathways influence obesity, metabolic flexibility and metabolic disease.
Ormond MacDougald
University of Michigan
Professor
Ormond MacDougald is a professor at the University of Michigan whose research has defined key molecular pathways controlling adipocyte differentiation, fat depot identity, and metabolic disease.
Patrick Seale
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
Professor
Patrick Seale is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, who studies the development and function of adipocytes and how adipocyte fate and function are modulated during growth and disease.
Philipp Scherer
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Professor
Philipp Scherer is a professor at UT Southwestern whose work uses state-of-the-art genetic approaches to define adipose tissue function and how adipose tissue communicates with other organs to regulate whole-body metabolism.
Shingo Kajimura
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,
Harvard University
Professor
Shingo Kajimura is a professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center whose research has uncovered major transcriptional and molecular pathways that drive brown and beige adipocyte thermogenesis.
Silvia Corvera
University of Massachusetts
Professor
Silvia Corvera is a professor at UMass Chan Medical School who studies human adipose development using innovative stem-cell–based approaches, providing key insights into adipose tissue expandability, metabolic resilience,
and obesity-associated dysfunction.
Søren Nielsen
University of Copenhagen
Professor
Søren Nielsen is a professor at the University of Copenhagen whose research focuses on lipid and glucose metabolism in humans, with particular emphasis on adipose tissue physiology and metabolic flux analysis.
Susan Fried
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Professor
Susan Fried is a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai whose research focuses on human adipocyte development, fat depot differences,
and metabolic function. Her work has shaped foundational concepts in adipose remodeling, obesity, and endocrine regulation.
Susanne Mandrup
University of Southern Denmark
Professor
Susanne Mandrup is a professor at the University of Southern Denmark whose research uses advanced genomics and molecular biology to dissect the transcriptional and epigenomic regulation of adipocyte differentiation.
Ricardo Samm is a Senior Director at Eli Lilly whose work focuses on adipose tissue, energy balance, and incretin biology in order to understand how targeting peripheral and central pathways of metabolic regulation can advance therapeutic strategies for obesity.