Past Conferences

Recent editions

2009 – 2025 (50th – 65th ICBL)

Each entry shows the meeting theme, the Van Deenen Lecturer for that edition and a link to the corresponding annual newsletter (PDF, hosted on this site).

65th ICBL · Innsbruck, Austria

21–24 September 2025 · Ágnes Heller Haus · Chair: Markus Keller

"Alpine Air & Lipid Flare — Igniting Innovation in Lipid Research"

Elina Ikonen (Helsinki, Finland) — "Writers and readers of lipid fluxes between cellular membrane compartments"

Conference site ↗

64th ICBL · Taipei, Taiwan

15–18 October 2024 · National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center

"Emerging insights in lipid metabolism and implications for health and disease" — Advances in lipidomics; lipid markers in precision medicine; disorders in lipid metabolism: mechanisms and solutions

Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz (Ashburn, VA, USA) — "Emerging imaging technologies to study subcellular architecture, dynamics and function"

Conference page →

63rd ICBL · Palma de Mallorca, Spain

2–5 October 2023 · Chair: Gwendolyn Barceló-Coblijn

"Advances in Lipid Research: from bench to bedside"

Edward A. Dennis (San Diego / La Jolla, CA, USA)

62nd ICBL · Montréal, Canada

4–7 September 2022 · Chair: Catherine Mounier (UQAM)

"Lipids in Metabolic Health and Disease" — Lipid desaturation in metabolism; lipid mediators of inflammation; FluxoLipidomic; triacylglycerol metabolism; lipids as second messengers; lipids in neuronal systems; reverse cholesterol transport

Christine Des Rosiers (Montreal, Canada) — "Enhancing disease mechanism and biomarker discovery in humans using untargeted comprehensive plasma lipidomics"

61st ICBL · Utrecht, Netherlands

12–15 October 2021 · Chair: J.B. (Bernd) Helms

"Lipid Dynamics — From Molecular Species to Health and Disease" — Membrane remodeling; lipid metabolism; lipid & membrane trafficking; lipids and disease; lipid–protein interactions; emerging technologies

Carsten Schultz (Portland, OR, USA) — "Chemical tools for lipid biology"

60th ICBL · Tokyo, Japan — 60th Jubilee

17–21 June 2019 · Hitotsubashi Hall · Chair: Takehiko Yokomizo

"The importance of Lipid Quality (LipoQuality) in biological systems" — Lipid mediator quality in health and disease; phospholipid quality in membrane biology; lipid quality in energy homeostasis; lipid–protein interaction; new technologies for lipoquality

Keizo Inoue (Tokyo, Japan) — "Dynamic properties and metabolism of membrane lipids"

Newsletter 2019 (PDF)

59th ICBL · Helsinki, Finland

4–7 September 2018 · Chair: Elina Ikonen

"Lipid Fluxes and Metabolism — From Fundamental Mechanisms to Human Disease" — Lipid-induced modulation of protein function; inter-organelle lipid trafficking; regulation of lipid synthesis, catabolism and storage; novel lipid probes; lipids in inflammation; lipids as markers for health and disease

Rosalind Coleman (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) — "Compartmentalization of fatty acid metabolism and lipid pathways"

Newsletter 2018 (PDF)

58th ICBL · Zürich, Switzerland

10–14 September 2017 · ETH Zürich · Chair: Christian Wolfrum

"Lipid signaling in Health and Disease" — Sphingolipids; sterols & bile acids; lipid–protein interactions and lipid sorting; enabling technologies; fatty acids and their derivatives; microorganisms and immunity

Bart Staels (Lille, France) — "Circadian control of lipid metabolism and pathological consequences of clock perturbations"

Newsletter 2017 (PDF)

57th ICBL · Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France

4–8 September 2016

"Lipidomics: from Structures to Functions" — Membrane lipids; lipid imaging; plasma lipoproteins; lipid oxidation; lipolytic enzymes; fatty acids of nutritional value; oxygenated metabolism of PUFA

Charles Serhan (Boston, MA, USA) — "Resolving Inflammation in the 21st Century: Novel Lipid Mediators and Mechanisms"

Newsletter 2016 (PDF)

56th ICBL · Puerto Iguazú, Argentina

22–26 September 2015 · Misiones

"Biochemistry, Biophysics and Transport of Lipids in Health & Disease" — lipid synthesis, transport and metabolic regulation; lipid signaling in health and disease; biophysics of lipid/lipid and lipid/protein interactions

Robin Irvine (Cambridge, UK) — "Adventures with inositides: the enigma of the phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate 4-kinases"

Newsletter 2015 (PDF)

55th ICBL · Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

23–28 June 2014

"Aberdeen and the Story of Lipids as Mediators of Health and Disease" — lipid modulators of inflammation & immunity; modified fatty acids; endocannabinoids; phytolipids; lipidomics — what's next?; lipids in whole body systems; membrane lipid trafficking

Susan Pyne (Strathclyde, Scotland, UK) — "Sphingosine 1-phosphate and cancer"

Newsletter 2014 (PDF)

54th ICBL · Bari, Italy

17–22 September 2013 · Chair: Maurizio Crestani

"Linking Transcription to Physiology in Lipidomics" — Nuclear receptors and the transcriptional regulation of lipid metabolism; gut–liver axis; diabetes & atherosclerosis; lipid metabolism, neurogenesis & stemness; circadian regulation; membrane microdomains; lipids and membranes in stress management

Bruce M. Spiegelman (Dana-Farber / Harvard, Boston, USA) — "Transcriptional control of brown and beige fat: toward a new generation of therapeutics"

Newsletter 2013 (PDF)

53rd ICBL · Banff, Canada

4–10 September 2012

"The Banff Lipid Experience" — triacylglycerol metabolism; phospholipid function (Eugene Kennedy memorial); lipid signaling; cholesterol metabolism (Konrad Bloch centenary); lipids and disease; fatty acid metabolism

Rudolf Zechner (Graz, Austria) — "Lipolysis: how fat catabolism affects multiple aspects of lipid and energy metabolism"

Newsletter 2012 (PDF)

52nd ICBL · Warsaw, Poland

30 August – 4 September 2011 · Chair: Agnieszka Dobrzyń

"Lipids in the Phoenix City" — triacylglycerol metabolism; phospholipid function; lipid signaling & regulation; cholesterol metabolism; lipids and disease; fatty acid metabolism

Peter J. Quinn (London, UK) — "Lipidomics: making sense of the data lode"

Newsletter 2011 (PDF)

51st ICBL · Bilbao, Spain

7–12 September 2010

"Lipids, Tapas and the Guggenheim Museum" — physical chemistry of lipids; lipids and biomembranes; bioactive lipids and lipidomics; lipid–protein interactions and lipid trafficking; lipid-binding proteins; plant lipids

William Dowhan (Houston, TX, USA) — "Lipid–protein interactions as determinants of membrane protein structure"

Newsletter 2010 (PDF)

50th ICBL · Regensburg, Germany — 50th edition

1–6 September 2009

"Regensburg, the Free Imperial City and 50th ICBL Host" — mediator lipidomics & transcriptional regulation; membrane microdomain heterogeneity; sterol species; minor fatty acid classes; eicosanoids; glycerophospho- and sphingolipid species; lipotoxicity; lipid barrier function

David Mangelsdorf (Dallas, TX, USA) — "Nuclear receptors, FGFs and the regulation of nutrient metabolism"

Newsletter 2009 (PDF)

Earlier editions

1953 – 2008 (1st – 49th ICBL)

Limited records survive for the earlier editions. The annual newsletters from 2004–2008 give a year-by-year account of activity from that period.

49th ICBL · Maastricht, Netherlands

26–31 August 2008

"Maastricht, the Heart of Europe" — cell membrane organization & biomembrane dynamics; lipid droplets as multifunctional organelles; intracellular lipid transport; fatty acids, lipids & metabolic syndrome; lipids and inflammation; lipid sensors; lysosomal lipid metabolism

Dennis Vance (Edmonton, Canada) — "Phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis: unexpected player in metabolic disease"

Newsletter 2008 (PDF)

48th ICBL · Turku, Finland

4–9 September 2007 · Chair: J. Peter Slotte

"Sea Monsters and Membrane Domains" — lipid metabolism, sphingolipids & fatty acids; membrane structure and function — lipids, domains, proteins; computational studies; intracellular lipid transfer

Joachim Seelig (Basel, Switzerland) — "Protein meets lipid: the role of lipid in protein folding"

Newsletter 2007 (PDF)

47th ICBL · Pécs, Hungary

5–9 September 2006 · Chair: László Vígh (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged) · Followed by a one-day ILPS course

"Pécs, the Roman Sopianae" — sphingolipids; lipids and stress; membrane microdomains — lipid rafts and caveolae; gene regulation by nucleus-targeted lipid signaling system; lipidomics; what are healthy lipids?; hot topics

Ben de Kruijff (Utrecht, Netherlands) — "Membranes, where lipids and proteins meet"

Newsletter 2006 (PDF)

46th ICBL · Ajaccio, Corsica

20–24 September 2005 · Co-organised by French and Italian members of the ICBL community · Co-Chairs: Maurizio Crestani, Paul Grimaldi, Michel Lagarde

"ICBL at Anchor in the Bay of an Imperial City on Kalliste Island" — lipids and gene expression; reverse cholesterol transport and cellular trafficking; membrane lipid domain and phospholipases; obesity, diabetes and energy metabolism

Arthur A. Spector (Iowa City, IA, USA) — "Fatty acids and derivatives in cell function"

Giovanni Galli Special Lecture · Alberico L. Catapano (Milano, Italy) — "Plasma Lipoproteins and Endothelial function: from gene expression to biological relevance" — in memory of Prof. Giovanni Galli, long-time Secretary of ICBL

Newsletter 2005 (PDF)

45th ICBL · Ioannina, Greece

25–29 May 2004 · Cultural Centre of Ioannina · Chair: Alexandros Tselepis

"Preolympics on the Bioscience of Lipids" — lipid metabolism and functional diversity; biological activity of olive oil components; pro-inflammatory lipid mediators; molecular and genetic basis of lipoprotein metabolism; hot topics

Sampath Parthasarathy (New Orleans, LA, USA) — "The Oxidation Paradox in Atherosclerosis: the narrowing gap between pro- and antioxidants"

Newsletter 2004 (PDF)

44th ICBL · Oxford, UK — 50th-anniversary Golden Jubilee

7–11 September 2003 · Sloane-Robinson Conference Centre, Keble College · Chair: Richard Bruckdorfer (Royal Free & University College Medical School, London)

"Lipidologists in Wonderland" — Golden Jubilee conference marking ICBL's 50th birthday; supported by the Biochemical Society. Marked by the launch of the Golden Jubilee Commemorative Booklet and a special session honouring the late ICBL Secretary Prof. Giovanni Galli.

Christopher J. Fielding (San Francisco, CA, USA) — "Membrane cholesterol and the regulation of signal transduction"

Newsletter 2004 (PDF)

—

1st – 43rd ICBL · 1953 – ~2002

From the founding meeting in Brussels (1953) — convened by Prof. Romain Ruyssen at the Royal Flemish Academy — through to the conferences immediately preceding the 2003 Golden Jubilee in Oxford.

Edition-by-edition records for these years are not currently held by the Secretariat. Van Deenen Lecturers from 1996 onwards (Phillips, Snyder, Riezman, Clarke, Huber, Glomset, Raetz) are listed on the dedicated Van Deenen Lectures page. If you have programmes, dates or organiser information from any of these meetings, please contact the Secretariat.

About the newsletter PDFs

All sixteen annual newsletters (2004–2019) have been migrated from the legacy icbl.info WordPress site and are now hosted directly on this site under /newsletters/. They are independent of the old WordPress installation and will continue to work after that domain is decommissioned.