From the Laboratory to the Clinic 2026: Complex pathogenesis of disease

Hosted by the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, the conference is designed to foster and facilitate interactions between a global audience of laboratory scientists, pharmaceutical and biotech scientists and clinicians, all interested in translational research. Over the years, the format has facilitated scientific exchange leading to new collaborations and scientific progress in the translational research space.

Focus of the 2026 conference

Understanding the pathogenesis of disease underpins successful attempts at therapy. We now have remarkable tools to understand pathogenesis, and in the 2026 conference will highlight four areas where major advances have been made, but much more is needed to reach cures. Until recently type 2 diabetes and obesity seemed unsurmountable challenges but exceptional research and translation has reversed the tide. Advances in metabolism leading to new therapies in diabetes and obesity, having unexpected benefits in other diseases, will be discussed by the pioneers in this field. Other forms of metabolism are also impacting health, understanding immune cell metabolism will be discussed.

We co-exist with a wide range of microbes, some that are health promoting, others that promote problems. Recent advances in microbial involvement in non-infectious disease will be explored. Neurodegeneration in its many forms is a major challenge. The “conventional” amyloid related approaches need to be supplemented by others to yield therapeutic progress, and some newer approaches will be discussed. While studying mechanisms of tissue damage has yielded significant benefit in many diseases, the important topic of tissue repair is harder to study but is making progress. Several aspects will be discussed, as they apply to heart disease as well as musculoskeletal.

We look forward to seeing you in September 2026.

Sessions and speakers

Immunology and Metabolism – Tuesday 1 September, 2pm

Craig Thompson - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

• Microbial metabolites can induce T cell effector function

Erika Pearce - John Hopkins

• Delineating the metabolic events that regulate immune cell differentiation and function

Luke O’Neill – Trinity College, Dublin

• How immunometabolism is providing therapeutic targets for inflammatory diseases

Refreshment Break

Mike Dustin – University of Oxford

• Supramolecular attack particles in cell mediated killing

Paul Klenerman – University of Oxford

• Unconventional and Conventional responses – tag team tactics for T cells

Katja Simon - Max Delbrück Center, Berlin

• Autophagy in metabolism, differentiation and aging of immune cells

Mark Davis – Stanford University

• Kir+CD8+ regulatory T cells as a biomarker of autoimmunity in human diseases

Microbial Effects on Disease - Wednesday 2 September, 9am

Eran Elinav - Weizmann Institute of Science

• Decoding dietary-host-microbiome Interactions in Health and Disease

Nebosja Janjic - Crestone Pharma

• Precision medicine for gut microbiome

Dan Littman - NYU Langone Health

• Shaping of immune response by the gut microbiota

Refreshment Break

Kathy McCoy – University of Calgary               

• Microbiota-driven Immune Modulation: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Paths

Yasmin Belkaid - Pasteur Institute

• Microbiota control of host immunity

Bill Robinson – Stanford

• EBV in Autoimmunity

Repair – Wednesday 2 September, 2pm

Jagdeep Nanchahal - University of Oxford

• Targeting endogenous pathways to enhance physiological tissue repair

Ann Tsukamoto Weissman – Bitterroot Foundation

• Act II: Clinical translation of Human Neural Stem Cells to regenerate function

Tonia Vincent  - University of Oxford

• Targeting mechanoflammation in osteoarthritis

Refreshment Break

Molly Stevens - University of Oxford

• Designing and translating new bioengineering strategies for applications in advanced therapeutics and ultrasensitive biosensing

Irv Weissman – Stanford University

• Biology, transplantation and disease pathogenesis of blood forming stem cells

Christopher Buckley  - University of Oxford

• Inflammation and Repair across tissues

Conference dinner, 7pm onwards

Metabolism – Thursday 3 September, 9am

Svetlana Mosjov - The Rockefeller University

• GLP-1: From a Putative Peptide to Effective Medicines for Diabetes and Obesity

Lotte Bjerre Knudsen - Novo Nordisk A/S

• The science behind the GLP-1 medicines: a historic view and future outlook

Speaker TBC

Refreshment Break

David Hodson – University of Oxford

• Visualizing diabetes and obesity drug targets from the single molecule to the whole animal

Matthias H. Tschöp, LMU Munich

• TBC

Stephen O'Rahilly – University of Cambridge

• TBC

Neurodegeneration – Thursday 3 September, 2pm

Alexander (Sasha) Tarakhovsky - The Rockefeller University

• The 30 year-old puzzle of RING3

Isaac Chiu – Harvard University

• Role of the innate pore-forming molecule Gasdermin E in Neurodegeneration

Mone Zaidi - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

• Concept to Candidate Drug: Can we treat osteoporosis, obesity & Alzheimer’s with a single drug 

Refreshment Break

Marco Colonna - St Louis Washington

• Innate Immune Programs Shaping Neurodegeneration

Kate Attfield – University of Oxford

• Genome-wide Analysis of Aquaporin-4-positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder: Insights into Comorbidities and Future Therapeutic Approaches

Speaker TBC

Neurodegeneration continued – Friday 4 September, 9am

Laura Dugan - Vanderbilt University Brain Institute & Etheros Pharmaceuticals

• Developing high-potency small molecule synthetic enzymes as therapeutic agents for brain aging and disease

Anne Schaefer - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

• “Adaptive” immunity by microglia

Larry Steinman – Stanford Medicine

• How EBV Drives Multiple Sclerosis and How This Knowledge Informs New Therapies

Refreshment Break

Tom Daniel – Aspen Neuroscience

• TBC

Speaker TBC

Speaker TBC

Conference website

Please visit the main conference website when it launches in Spring 2026 to read and download the full programme, speaker information, venue information, pricing and to register.

Registration information

Registration will open in Spring 2026. Please register early as places are limited.

Registration is via the conference website.

Posters

This year we welcome you to present posters which will be displayed throughout the conference. Information for poster presenters can be found on the main conference website.

Prices

We are offer both in-person and virtual attendance.

Conference tickets range from £200 (single days) - £1100 (full conference) with discount for academic attendees. PhD students are welcome to attend and also are offered a discounted ticket price. Visit the main conference website for all of the available options.

Contact information 

If you have questions about the conference, please contact Charlotte at labtoclinic@kennedy.ox.ac.uk.