Once considered a passive reservoir for energy storage, adipose tissue is now recognized as a dynamic organ with wide-ranging effects on systemic physiology. In health, it regulates metabolism, thermogenesis, immune defense, and endocrine communication. In disease, excess or dysfunction of adipose tissue contributes to obesity, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

This Keystone Symposium will highlight cutting-edge advances in adipose biology, spanning fundamental mechanisms to translational applications. Key themes include:

• Adipose-Incretin Interactions: Exploring how incretin biology intersects with adipose tissue function and therapeutic targeting.
• Extracellular Communication: Defining the role of adipose-derived vesicles, RNAs, and signals as novel mediators of cardiometabolic and neuroendocrine crosstalk.
• Therapeutic Targeting: Evaluating strategies to modulate adipose tissue, from polyagonists and depot-selective interventions to ß2-agonists and next-generation therapeutics.
• Adipose Tissue and Cancer: Uncovering how adipocytes and tumour cells interact, with implications for tumour progression and therapy.
• Adipose-Immune Interactions: Dissecting how immune pathways influence adipose tissue plasticity, inflammation, and systemic metabolic outcomes.
• Evolutionary Perspectives: Leveraging comparative biology across species, from hibernating mammals to fish, to uncover fundamental principles of adipose adaptation.

Paired with the Keystone Symposium on incretin biology, this meeting will convene leaders from academia, industry, and clinical science to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue. Together, the program emphasizes how insights into adipose tissue cellularity, signalling, and plasticity can inform innovative strategies for obesity, metabolic disease, and cancer.