Nobel Laureate and NASA Astronaut to Speak at American Physiology Summit

Conference program includes game-changer sessions featuring top scientific topics

Rockville, Md. (March 15, 2024)—Nobel Laureate Brian Kobilka, MD, and NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir, PhD, are among the highlighted speakers who will attend the American Physiology Summit, the American Physiological Society’s (APS) flagship annual meeting. The Summit will be held April 4–7, 2024, in Long Beach, California.

Nobel Laureate Brian Kobilka, MD, is a professor and chair of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California. Together with his colleague Robert Lefkowitz, MD, Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on G-protein-coupled receptors. Kobilka will give the Summit’s opening keynote talk, “Challenges and new approaches to drug discovery for G protein coupled receptors,” on Thursday, April 4, at 4:15 p.m. PDT. Read more about Kobilka.

NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir, PhD, assistant to the chief astronaut for Commercial Crew (SpaceX) and deputy for the Flight Integration Division, trained as a comparative physiologist before becoming an astronaut. From 2019 to 2020, she spent 205 days living and conducting scientific experiments on the International Space Station. Meir will give the closing keynote talk, “Experimenting in microgravity: full circle for a physiologist turned astronaut,” on Sunday, April 7, at 11:30 a.m. PDT. Read more about Meir.

The meeting’s lineup will also feature eight game-changer sessions highlighting some of the biggest topics affecting life and health today. Top scientists from around the world will discuss these vital issues.

The game-changer sessions are:

The Molecular Circadian Clock: Understanding Its Role in Homeostasis

Cutting-edge advances in understanding molecular circadian clocks and how circadian rhythm function is integrated across physiological systems to maintain homeostasis

AI Unbound: Challenging Scientific Boundaries in Physiology Research and Data Science

How advances in technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning are pushing boundaries in science and health care

G Protein-coupled Receptors as Drug Targets: Novel Insights and New Approaches

G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) application as drug targets and approaches in identifying GPCR-regulating proteins in the cardiovascular system

Harnessing the Power of Spatial Omics: Innovative Approaches and Insights into Cell Function

Novel insights into cell function in systems biology and how cells organize and interact across the tissue landscape to drive disease progression

Interorgan Crosstalk: Exploring Communication Axes and Their Relevance in Health and Disease

New epidemiological and pre-clinical evidence that highlights the relevance of interorgan crosstalk in homeostasis and disease

Cognitive Decline: Collateral Damage of Cardiometabolic Syndrome

New findings that could prompt preventive and counteractive remedies for the loss of cognitive function in people with obesity and metabolic syndrome

Immunometabolism: At the Crossroads of Novel Gut-Neural-Cardiorenal Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Disease

An exploration of basic applied and clinical science in diverse animal and human models, including underrepresented populations, and an introduction to immunology from an integrative physiological perspective

Physiology in Nontraditional Model Systems: Exploring Species Diversity to Reveal Adaptations with Translational Potential

The study of nontraditional models for mechanisms of unique adaptations that can enhance understanding of how other species respond to internal and external physiological challenges

Explore the Summit’s schedule at a glance and program by day.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: For more information, please contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find research highlights in the APS Newsroom. 

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.