Due to current times, the ability for researchers from across the world to come together and share their latest research has been lost. However, the Genes and Metabolism section at the LMS organised a half-day virtual symposium to bring together some of the world leaders in the study of physiology and metabolism.

The Inter-organ Communication in Health and Disease Symposium was a discussion-based format to debate some of the biggest questions in the metabolic regulation of health and disease: from the gut-brain axis and the influence of the microbiome, to the role of metabolites as non-canonical signals.

One of the symposium organisers, Santiago Vernia, said this about the event:

“I think the goal was to bring together world class researchers that have made seminal findings about the molecular mechanisms involved in multi-organ crosstalk in health and disease. Although this was the general topic, each of them uses very original and particular models and approaches. Bringing them together highlighted the synergies and potential of addressing fundamental biological questions across models.”

Our first virtual symposium was a huge success and brought together over 450 attendees from across the world; from China to Argentina, from Mexico to India and many more. “It is definitely a shame that we couldn’t meet people in person, but we could never have connected with such a broad audience in a conventional face-to-face meeting” added another of the symposium’s organisers Louise Fets.

We, at the LMS, would like to thank all of our speakers, attendees the organisers of the virtual symposium, and also UKRI technical support.