Understanding how the brain coordinates the intake, use and storage of calories at the whole-body level and how the environment impacts eating behavior, has direct clinical implications for obesity prevention and management. This is even more timely in light of novel hormone-derived therapies that shut down appetite through their action on the brain, providing new promise to tackle the disease.

This meeting has the ambition to cover the latest research advances, across circuits and systems levels, to disentangling how the brain receives and processes nutrient-related information to control eating behavior.  The program will explore the impact of environmental context and the role of sensory mechanisms, motivation and decision making processes in shaping this behavior. Through work done in humans and animal models, the conference will provide cutting-edge knowledge on neuroendocrine mechanisms integrating food intake with whole body metabolic responses. Breakthrough studies pinpointing brain-related mechanisms of action of novel anti-obesity therapies that have recently entered the market or are in clinical development will be highlighted. The conference will integrate academic, industry and clinical perspectives, providing an inclusive setting for rich exchange and interdisciplinary discussion to drive therapeutic advances. The meeting will engage researchers across diverse expertise, integrating neuroscience, neurometabolism, psychobiology, physiology, endocrinology, nutrition, biochemistry and pharmacology, to holistically understand the mechanisms and impacts of how neurobiology drives feeding behavior in the context of health and disease.