Björntorp Symposium

Stirin Castle, near Prague, Czech Republic

24 - 27 March 2009

Differential roles of the various adipose compartments in obesity

Hosted by EASO and the Institute of Endocrinology in Prague, the inaugural EASO Björntorp Symposium created an invaluable opportunity for intense in-depth scientific exchange between experienced internationally renowned scientists and younger research fellows from around Europe.

15 international speakers and 40 European delegates (5 local students) attended the symposium.  Participants enjoyed a Welcome Reception at the Institute of Endocrinology on Tuesday 24th March after which they were transferred to Stirin Castle for the remainder of the Symposium.  Set in a beautiful, secluded woodland setting, the Castle was a perfect location in which to hold a small, focused meeting.  The structure of the meeting allowed attendees to interact scientifically and socially – a feature which was warmly welcomed by all because such opportunities are very rare at large international congresses.

The scientific programme featured some of the world’s leading experts in Obesity Research. In addition to frequently drawing the lines back in history to Professor Per Björntorp’s impressive contributions to the research in the field of the differential roles of the various adipose compartments in obesity, it also unfolded the current state-of-the art in the field. Novel aspects of regulation of adipogenesis, body imaging technology, adipose transcriptomics, adipose tissue cellularity and dynamics, regulatory mechanisms of fat transport by adipocytes, brown-white adipocyte transdifferentiation, inflammatory reactions to death of adipocytes, the vasocrine hypothesis about the role of the peri-arterial adipose tissue, regional differences in fatty acid metabolism, gender differences in the regulatory role of the HPA axis and the sex hormones, the metabolic syndrome components and cardiovascular risk, differential roles of specific abdominal fat depots, obesity-related insulin resistance in childhood, and the public health implications were addressed.

The concept, the organisation and especially the extremely high scientific level were warmly received by all participants.  All participants were asked to submit comments and suggestions and it is clear that a regular Björntorp Symposium of this nature would be popular.  Many participants submitted very helpful suggestions which would allow us to improve the meeting, particularly by increasing the scientific involvement of the younger participants.

A selection of remarks (from both speakers and delegates) are:

‘The meeting was really a success.  It was really a great honour for me to participate.  One of the most remarkable things (in addition to the fantastic talks) was to get an historical appreciation of different concepts in the field’.

‘The program was great and there is nothing more that I enjoy than being confined to a castle with colleagues for a few days. From my perspective this is a much better meeting venue than the large anonymous sessions we are accustomed to’.

‘Thank you for a wonderful conference. The hospitality, the venue and the program were excellent. The attendees enjoyed it and I believe the benefit was great for all participants’.

‘The conference was one of the most interesting I have ever attended and I am so pleased that you allowed me to join and I do hope that I can do so again next year!’

‘I found the meeting very well organised, enough people but not too many, nice atmosphere, great interactions with the lecturers and top scientific discussions. I learnt a lot on adipose organ and adipocyte cell biology. I also appreciated the social events and the fact we were away from everything probably forced the people to interact and to exchange point of view, something I believe very important especially for the development of research projects. Another positive point is the interaction between basic and clinical scientists’.

‘I enjoyed the meeting very much. Selected speakers were excellent and I appreciated the structure of their presentation - partly an overview and partly experiments and results.  I hope that the symposium will be held again next year’.

Click here to download the scientific programme.

The 2nd EASO Björntorp Symposium will take place in Spring 2011. For further information, please contact us at enquiries@easo.org