ABSTRACT
Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Immunometabolism at the Crossroads of
Obesity and Cancer, organized by Drs. Lydia Lynch and Hongbo Chi. The conference will be held in Banff,
Alberta, Canada from January 16-20, 2022.
The field of immunometabolism has generally been split into two largely separate areas: the study of the
intrinsic cellular metabolic pathways driving immune response, and the study of leukocytes regulating systemic
metabolism. However, the fields rarely have the chance to interact, yet it is critical to the field. This Keystone
Symposia conference will bring these fields of systemic and cellular immunometabolism together for the first
time. This conference highlights the interdependence of both arms of immunometabolism, using the settings
of obesity and obesity driven cancer as the ideal examples to explore and synergize these areas of research.
In addition, linking diet, obesity and immunity is very relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic, which is
disproportionately affecting patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Moreover, by holding this conference
jointly with the Keystone meeting on Tumor Metabolism, the program will integrate immunometabolism with
cutting edge knowledge and tools in metabolism of cancer cells and the microenvironment to drive the field
forward. Furthermore, this conference will cover sessions on new concepts and state of the art technologies
that can lead to deeper insights in the field of immunometabolism with the goal of connecting metabolic
processes at the organismal, tissue, and cellular levels, as well as sessions on understanding the effects of
diet, microbiome and obesity in immune system function and cancer pathogenesis and therapy. Finally,
innovative strategies for targeting immunometabolism as therapeutics for cancer, obesity and other disorders,
including the approaches of improving immunotherapy and direct targeting of tumor-intrinsic pathways in
cancer will also be covered.