Lipids in health and disease
Lipids are essential biomolecules that play a key role in maintaining the structure and function of cells. Owing to their amphipathic nature, lipids are key components of membranes, regulating the movement of substances in and out of cells and organelles and maintaining their integrity. Lipids act as signaling molecules, participating in the production of hormones and second messengers that are crucial for cellular communication. Lipids also serve as a dense energy source, making them vital for sustained energy needs. Lipids, both those derived from dietary sources and those generated endogenously, are also remarkable in their diversity, a feature that is growing rapidly in appreciation enabled by new technologies for the detection and functional characterization of lipids. Given these central and unique features of lipids, they are crucial to both the maintenance of optimal health as well as in the development and management of various pathologies.
The lipids symposium at ASBMB 2026 will bring together leading scientists and researchers to explore the multifaceted roles of lipids in health and disease. This year's themes spotlight our growing understanding of the involvement of targeting lipid metabolism to slow metastatic disease, of lipids as key modulators of inflammatory pathologies, and novel advances in cholesterol and sphingolipid biology.
These sessions will explore novel roles of lipids in tumor growth, metastasis and the tumor microenvironment; delve into the intricate interplay between lipids and inflammatory/immune pathways, inflammation and immune function, highlighting how these molecules shape immune responses and contribute to chronic inflammatory diseases; and shine a spotlight on novel advances in cholesterol and sphingolipid biology, showcasing breakthroughs that deepen our understanding of their metabolism, signaling pathways and implications for health and disease. Attendees will gain fresh insights into these critical areas of lipid research, fostering collaborations to address some of the most pressing challenges in lipid research.
Organizers
Harini SampathRutgers University
Hongyuan (Rob) YangUniversity of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Symposia
Here's a curated list of sessions you might also find interesting. More information will be available in the lead-up to the meeting, so sign up for email updates to stay informed.
Deep dives
Start each day with inspiring plenary sessions on cutting-edge science, then dive deeper into each topic throughout the day.
Racing the clock: Molecular mechanisms of aging
Investigating biochemical aspects of aging both in model organisms and humans.
Plenary speaker Meng Wang, Baylor College of Medicine/HHMI
Is anyone there? Information transfer in biology from proteins to organisms
Looking at how life has evolved to sense chemical and physical signals and change the responses of individual proteins or the behaviors of whole animals.
Plenary speaker Eric Betzig, University of California, Berkeley
I, biochemist: Automation & AI in the lab
How new computational and robotic technologies can help drive biochemistry in unexpected directions.
Plenary speaker Tanja Kortemme, University of California, San Francisco
Inspiring talks
Hear from leading researchers, innovators, pioneers and emerging scientists across all parts of the field.
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Keynote
Wesley Sundquist, University of Utah
Phosphatidic acid phosphatase in lipid regulation: mechanistic insights and therapeutic potential
George Carman, Rutgers University
Finding and building your community: Go further together
Pamela Mertz, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Exploiting vulnerable biology for malaria drug discovery
Margaret Phillips, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Pathways to persistence: Defining and building excellence in science
Donita C. Brady, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Canonical and non-canonical signal transduction by JNK
Roger J. Davis, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Structural bioinformatics and protein structure prediction at multiple scales
Roland L. Dunbrack, Jr., Fox Chase Cancer Center
Building the next generation of molecular bioscientists through sustained leadership beyond the bench
Suzanne Barbour, Duke University
Unearthing the lanthanome for rare-earth separations
Joseph A. Cotruvo, Jr., Pennsylvania State University
Guardians of the membrane: Cellular strategies to prevent lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis
James Olzmann, University of California, Berkeley
Kim Orth, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Intra-lysosomal lipid metabolism and neurodegeneration
Monther Abu–Remaileh, Stanford University
New directions
Mini-symposia
Mini-symposia that may be of interest include:
- Alternative grading: practice and research
- Beyond cholesterol: Structure, signaling and nuclear receptors
- Cell death in immunity and inflammation: mechanisms, crosstalk and therapeutic potential
- Clinical variants of protein phosphatases define new disease mechanisms
- Coding and AI education in biochemistry and molecular biology
- Computational biology and AI in cardiometabolic disease etiology and medicine
- Current developments in genome organization and expression
- Decoding enzyme mechanisms in epitranscriptome regulation
- Discovering and deciphering drugs in the membrane
- Interconnected post-translational modifications in neurodegenerative disorder: Crosstalk between arginylation, citrullination, and acetylation in neuronal compartments
- Membrane and organelle dynamics
- Recent advances in protein methyltransferase research: From mechanisms to therapeutics
- Remodeling the cell with AAA-ATPases
- The AI knowledgebase transformation: How large language models and AI are reshaping the future of biological discovery
- The Hippo signaling pathway in health and disease
Emerging investigator seminar
Engage with some of the most impressive research being done by graduate students and postdocs at this full-day seminar.
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Biochemical modifications in health and disease
This session will explore the latest insights into how biochemical modifications shape physiology and pathology, highlighting innovative research and therapeutic opportunities at the interface of chemistry, biology and translational research.
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Lipids in cell–cell communication and metabolism in health and disease
This session will explore the multifaceted roles of lipids in coordinating metabolic networks, signaling pathways and intercellular interactions that underpin health and drive disease.
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Single cell proteomics: from method development to biological and clinical insights
This session will highlight recent advances in mass spectrometry, microfluidics, sample preparation and computational analyses that are rapidly expanding the field's sensitivity and throughput, opening new avenues in systems biology, immunology, cancer research and beyond.
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Professional development
Career and education fair
Discover career opportunities in cutting-edge fields across academia and industry.
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Meetups
Get together with people who have research interests and passions similar to yours during themed meetups.