Neurobiology of Appetite Control (J4)
January 18-21, 2027
| Keystone Resort, Keystone, CO, United States
Michael J Krashes, Amber L. Alhadeff, Sung-Yon Kim and Alice E Adriaenssens
Scholarship Deadline: Oct. 7, 2026 | Abstract Deadline: Dec. 29, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Nov. 19, 2026
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
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| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer |
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Tuesday, January 19, 2027
| 8:00–8:10 AM |
Welcome Remarks (Joint) |
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| 8:10–9:00 AM |
Keynote Address (Joint) |
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Misha Ahrens, Janelia Research Campus
Whole-Brain, All-Optical Interrogation of Neuronal Dynamics Underlying Gut Interoception |
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| 9:00–11:30 AM |
Body-Brain Interoception I (Joint) |
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Stephen Liberles, Harvard Medical School
Mechanisms of Body-Brain Communication |
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Kara Marshall, Baylor College of Medicine
Under Pressure: The Role of PIEZO Ion Channels in Interoception |
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Isabel Espinosa Medina, Janelia Research Campus - Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Brain Meets Pancreas: Patterned Innervation Shapes Adult Metabolic Control |
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Alejandro Lopez, UCSF
Short Talk: Functional Segregation of Body-Brain Signals in the Area Postrema |
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Emily Robinson, MIT
Short Talk: A Vagal-to-Sympathetic Reflex Controls Lung Vascular Leak |
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| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 11:30–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
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| 11:30–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
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| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1: Internal States and Peripheral Signals in the Control of Feeding |
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Mark Alkema, Umass Chan Medical School
Short Talk: Opposing Neuromodulatory Signals Coordinate Feeding and Intestinal Physiology in Response to Food Availability |
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Myungmo An, Seoul National University
Short Talk: A Reciprocal Neuromodulatory Circuit That Controls The Persistence of the Stress State |
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Isadora Braga †, University of Pennsylvania
Short Talk: High-Fat Diet Rapidly Remodels Vagal Sensory Pathways to Impair Satiation |
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Fahrunisa Meryem Betul Erol, Columbia University
Short Talk: Functional Interrogation of BMI GWAS Loci in Human Hypothalamic Neurons |
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Nour Mesto †, Paris Cité University
Short Talk: PTH1R Signaling in AgRP Neurons: A Novel Hypothalamic Pathway Linking Metabolic and Reward Circuitry |
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Nejmeh Mashhour †, Paris Cite University
Short Talk: From Thalamus to Gut: an Incretin-Dependent Pathway Regulating Feeding and Glucose Metabolism |
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Baijie Xu †, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Short Talk: Developmental Reprogramming in Melanocortin Neurons Modulates Diet-Induced Obesity |
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Zhaoyue Zhang, Liangzhu Laboratory
Short Talk: Macronutrient Composition and Genetic Background Determine the Response to a Ketogenic Diet |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
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| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Drug Discovery: Strategies for Combating Metabolism Disorders |
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Giuseppe D'Agostino, University of Manchester
Brain–Body Circuits Linking Appetite, Immunity and Obesity Therapeutics |
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Alastair Garfield, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals
Precision Medicines for Neuroendocrine Diseases |
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Anna Secher, Novo Nordisk A/S
Untangling the Mode of Action of Amylin Analogues in the Control of Appetite |
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Shakira Rodriguez Gonzalez †, NIH/Hopkins
Short Talk: Dorso Vagal Complex Calcr Neurons and Gs-cAMP Signaling Selectively Mediate Cagrilintide but Not Semaglutide Action |
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Jonathan Flak, Indiana University School of Medicine
Short Talk: Bidirectionally Tuning the Neuronal Excitability of VMN PACAP Cells Leads to Sustained Impacts on Chronic Energy Expenditure and Adiposity, while preserving Lean Mass |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
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| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
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Wednesday, January 20, 2027
| 8:00–8:50 AM |
Keynote Address (Joint) |
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Mark L. Andermann, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
How Motivation Shapes Perception |
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| 8:50–9:10 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 8:50–11:10 AM |
Body-Brain Interoception II (Joint) |
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Sung-Yon Kim, Seoul National University
Transforming Body Signals into Behavior: How Swallowing Quenches Thirst |
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Amber L. Alhadeff, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Dissociating Circuits for Satiety and Aversion |
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Yoav Livneh, Weizmann Institute of Science
Sensations and Prediction in Brain-Body Interactions |
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Britya Ghosh, Baylor College of Medicine
Short Talk: Role of GI Mechanosensation in Sensing Fullness State and Shaping Feeding Behavior |
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Chen Ran †, The Scripps Research Institute
Short Talk: Anatomical and Functional Architecture of Ascending Brainstem Interoceptive Pathways |
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| 11:10–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
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| 11:10–3:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
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| 3:00–4:30 PM |
Career Roundtable |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
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| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Targeting Homeostatic and Hedonic Food Intake Pathways Underlying Eating |
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Laura Rupprecht, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gut Cells for Food Reward |
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Guillaume de Lartigue, Monell Chemical Senses Center
How Meals Influence Eating Decisions |
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Dana M. Small, McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (RI-MUHC)
Diet Modulation of Reward Processing in Humans |
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Samantha Fortin, UConn Health
Central Sites of Action Mediating Food Intake Control |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
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| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
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Thursday, January 21, 2027
| 8:00–11:00 AM |
Neural Circuitry and States Modulating Feeding Behavior |
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Alice E Adriaenssens, AstraZeneca
The Central GIPR Signaling Axis: New Insights, New Questions |
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Michael J Krashes, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health
Motivational Processes Underlying Food Intake |
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Marcelo O. Dietrich, Yale University
Ontogeny of Physiological Processes in Mammals |
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Srikanta Chowdhury, Columbia University
Short Talk: Brainstem Peptidergic Neurons Anticipate the Post-Ingestive Consequences of a Meal |
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Andrew Lutas, NIH/NIDDK
Short Talk: An Amygdaloreticular Pathway Promotes Motor Programs of Ingestion |
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Audrey Martin, New York University
Short Talk: Regulation of Macronutrient Appetites by the Ventromedial Hypothalamus |
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Misgana Ghidewon †, University of Pennsylvania
Short Talk: Selective Hunger-Dependent Oral Glucose Detection Via Hypothalamic Neurons |
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| 9:00–9:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 11:00–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2: Neural Circuits of Food Motivation, Reward, and Choice |
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Valerie Darcey, NIDDK
Short Talk: When Does Post-Ingestive Dopamine Signaling Occur in Humans? |
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Nikola Grujic, ETH Zurich
Short Talk: Rules of Disengagement: Dissociable Orexin-Arousal and GLP-1-Dopamine Control of Food-Motivated Behavior |
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Fei-Yang Huang †, University of Oxford
Short Talk: The Primate Amygdala Represents Predicted Nutrient Composition During Food Choice |
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Tanya Pattnaik †, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Short Talk: The Lactational State as a Novel Model of Attenuated High-Fat Diet-Induced Food Devaluation |
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Marc Tittgemeyer, Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research
Short Talk: Metabolic State Shapes Learning and Motivational Choice in Appetite Control |
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Yanan Wu †, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Short Talk: A Hypothalamus-To-Amygdala Melanocortin Circuit Dynamically Coordinates Feeding and Social Investigation In Mice |
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Qi Zhang, NIH
Short Talk: Biological Time Represents a Novel Dimension of Motivational Computation for Feeding |
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Zhe Zhao, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter
Short Talk: Direct Interoceptive Input to the Insular Cortex Calibrates Motivated Feeding Behavior |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
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| 5:00–6:45 PM |
Integration of Sensory and Internal Signals |
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Sophie M Steculorum, Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research
Neurocircuits of Food Sensory Perception |
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Nilay Yapici, Cornell University
Understanding the Neural Basis of Foraging and Food Intake Decisions |
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Alexxai V. Kravitz, Washington University in St. Louis
Neural Mechanisms that Control Decision Making and Feeding |
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Rachel A Essner, Harvard University & Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Short Talk: Brainstem Sensing of Multiple Body Signals During Food Consumption |
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| 6:45–7:00 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
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| 8:00–11:00 PM |
Entertainment |
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