Conference Schedule
IBEC 2026: Exercise and Healthspan
Conference Schedule
The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
All events in the Roanoke Ballroom unless otherwise noted
7:30 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast
8 a.m. Welcome and opening remarks
8:15 a.m. Keynote Presentation 1
Introduction by Michael Friedlander, Executive Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Virginia Tech Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology
Kindly sponsored by Virginia's Blue Ridge
Thomas Rando, Ph.D., University of California Los Angeles, USA
Exercise as Regenerative Medicine: Enhancement of Stem Cell Function
9:15 a.m. Coffee Break
Session 1: Advancing Age and the Response to Exercise
9:30 a.m.
Kindly sponsored by Aurora Scientific
Session chairs: Bumsoo Ahn, Wake Forest University, and Rebecca Wall, Virginia Tech
9:30 a.m. Blake Rasmussen, Ph.D., UT Health San Antonio, USA: The Impact of Physical Activity on the Human Skeletal Muscle Metabolome and Mitochondrial Function in Older Adults
9:55 a.m. Brian McDonagh, Ph.D., University of Galway, Ireland: Exercise-induced Mitochondrial Remodelling: Insights from the Model Organism C. elegans
10:20 a.m. Zachary Clayton, Ph.D., University of Colorado, USA: Keeping Arteries Young: Clues from the Protective Power of Aerobic Exercise
10:45 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
11:05 a.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
11:15 a.m. Coffee Break
Session 2: Mitochondrial Adaptation: Structural/Functional Relationships in Exercise
11:30 a.m.
Kindly sponsored by Oroboros Instruments
Session chairs: Darrell Neufer, Wake Forest University, and Niloufar Amiri, Virginia Tech
11:30 a.m. David Hood, Ph.D., York University, Canada: Effect of Exercise on the Regulation of Lysosome Biogenesis and Function in Muscle
11:55 a.m. Brian Glancy, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health, USA: Sustaining Power: Building Energy Networks in Striated Muscle
12:20 p.m. Zhenji Gan, Ph.D., Nanjing University, China: Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Remodeling in Exercise and Diseases
12:45 p.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
1:05 p.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
1:15 p.m. Catered Lunch and Poster Viewing (even numbers)
Roanoke Ballroom A & B, Hotel Roanoke
Kindly sponsored by Virginia's Blue Ridge
Session 3: Cutting Edge/Breaking Discoveries
2:30 p.m.
Kindly sponsored by the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Session chairs: Junco Warren, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and Nate Serrano, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
2:30 p.m. Darrell Neufer, Ph.D., Wake Forest University, USA: The Quest to Measure Mitochondrial Efficiency
2:55 p.m. Nick Betley, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania: It Is All in Your Head: Body - Brain Interactions and Beneficial Adaptations from Exercise
3:20 p.m. Sue Bodine, Ph.D., Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation: MoTrPAC: An Unparalleled Study on the Whole Body, Temporal Response to Exercise
3:45 p.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
4:05 p.m. Coffee Break
4:20 p.m. Jacques Poortmans Lecture: IBEC Honor Award
Introduction by Brian Carson, International Biochemistry of Exercise Executive Committee
Roanoke Ballroom
Kindly sponsored by the Virginia Tech Fralin Life Sciences Institute
Mark Febbraio, Ph.D., Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
From the Track to the Clinic: Identifying Mechanisms Associated with the Protective Effects of Exercise to Develop Novel Therapeutics
5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Reception and Dinner
7:30 a.m. Continental breakfast
8 a.m. Keynote Presentation 2
Introduction by Stella Volpe, Virginia Tech
Kindly sponsored by Columbus Instruments
Karyn Esser, Ph.D., University of Florida, USA
Temporal Exercise Physiology: How Circadian Clocks Shape and Sense Exercise
9 a.m. Coffee Break
Concurrent Session 4: Early Life Impact of Exercise
9:15 a.m.
Roanoke Ballroom
Session chairs: Sarah Lessard, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and Hemangi Bhonsle, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Kindly sponsored by the Journal of Sport and Health Science
9:15 a.m. Jun Seok Son, Ph.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA: Maternal Exercise-Induced Early Life Muscle-To-Bone Signaling Axis
9:40 a.m. Laurie Goodyear, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, USA: Exercise-Induced Adaptations to Adipose Tissue and the Regulation of Systemic Metabolism
10:05 a.m. Nicholas Broskey, Ph.D., East Carolina University, USA: Effect of Maternal Exercise on Infant Whole-body and Cellular Metabolism
10:30 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
10:50 a.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
Concurrent Session 5: Exercising Brain: Impacts on Neurogenesis and Neuronal Plasticity
9:15 a.m.
Crystal Ballroom
Session chairs: Ryan Montalvo, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and Diji Nieves-Esparcia, Virginia Tech
Kindly sponsored by the Virginia Tech Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement
9:15 a.m. Saul Villeda, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, USA: Systemic Mechanisms of Exercise-induced Brain Rejuvenation
9:40 a.m. Jill Morris, Ph.D., University of Kansas Medical Center, USA: Importance of the Acute Exercise Response and Brain Health
10:05 a.m. Christina Hugenschmidt, Ph.D., Wake Forest University, USA: The IMOVE Study: Effects of Social Engagement and Movement on Cognition and Brain in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment
10:30 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
10:50 a.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
11 a.m. Coffee Break
Concurrent Session 6: Hot Topic: GLP1 Agonists, Skeletal Muscle, and Exercise
11:15 a.m.
Roanoke Ballroom
Session chairs: Siddhartha Angadi, University of Virginia, and Pierre-Anne Laird, Virginia Tech
Kindly sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company
11:15 a.m. Signe Torekov, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen, Denmark: Healthy Weight Throughout Life (Impact of Exercise on Muscle Wasting in Obesity Therapy)
11:40 a.m. Daniel Green, Ph.D., University of West Australia: Do We Need a Box Warning for Incretin Agonists: Must Be Taken with Resistance Exercise?
12:05 p.m. Paul Titchenell, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Co., USA: Activin Pathway Modulation and Quality Weight Loss
12:30: p.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
12:50 p.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
Concurrent Session 7: Exercise Immunity and Cancer Prevention: From Tumor Microenvironment to Immune Cell Function
11:15 a.m.
Crystal Ballroom
Session chairs: Charles Najt, Virginia Tech, and Xuansong Mao, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Kindly sponsored by Shimadzu
11:15 a.m. Lee Jones, Ph.D., City of Hope, USA: A Translational Approach to Understand How Exercise Influences Cancer Pathogenesis
11:40 a.m. Richard Simpson, Ph.D., University of Arizona, USA: Exercise-mobilized Immune Cells: A Novel Cell Source for Cancer Immunotherapy
12:05 p.m. Kent Langston, Ph.D., Yale University, USA: Causes and Consequences of Physiological Inflammation in Skeletal Muscle
12:30: p.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
12:50 p.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
1 p.m. Catered Lunch and Poster Viewing (odd numbers)
Roanoke Ballroom A & B
Kindly sponsored by Columbus Instruments
2:15 p.m. Roanoke Activities, Various Locations Around the City
Included with your conference registration
6 p.m. John Holloszy Award Lecture: Young Investigator Award
Introduction by Joshua Drake, Virginia Tech
Roanoke Ballroom
Kindly sponsored by the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
Thibaux Van der Stede, Ph.D., Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Belgium
Histaminergic Control of Exercise Adaptations in Human Skeletal Muscle
7:30 a.m. Continental breakfast
Concurrent Session 8: Exercise and Prescription Medication Interactions and Repurposing
8 a.m.
Roanoke Ballroom
Session chairs: Leonardo Ferreira, Duke University School of Medicine, and Regina Cabrera, University of Arkansas
Kindly sponsored by Optics11Life
8 a.m. Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, USA: Context Specificity of Metformin Treatment on Mitochondrial Energetics and Healthspan (There and Back Again)
8:25 a.m. Steen Larsen, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen, Denmark: Exercise, Statins, and Mitochondria
8:50 a.m. William Kraus, M.D., Duke University, USA: Drug Repurposing to Mimic the Effects of Exercise Training for Targeted Health Effects
9:15 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
Concurrent Session 9: Circadian Clock and Exercise Adaptation
8 a.m.
Crystal Ballroom
Session chairs: Ning Chen, Wuhan Sports University, and Sumita Mishra, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Kindly sponsored by Advanced Exercise and Health Science
8 a.m. Melissa Erickson, Ph.D., AdventHealth, USA: “Shifting” Our Thinking in Human Metabolism Across the 24h Day-Night Cycle
8:25 a.m. Seung-Hee Yoo, Ph.D., UT Health Science Center at Houston, USA: Fbxl21 Regulates Circadian Proteostasis and Stress Response Via Degradation of Dnajb6 and Its Client Proteins
8:50 a.m. Juleen Zierath, Ph.D., Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and University of Copenhagen: The Molecular Blueprint of Exercise: From Muscle to Metabolic Health
9:15 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
9:35 a.m. Coffee Break
Concurrent Session 10: Exercise and Skeletal Muscle Anabolic Response
9:50 a.m.
Roanoke Ballroom
Session chairs: Brian Carson, University of Limerick, and Robert Grange, Virginia Tech
Kindly sponsored by Novogene
9:50 a.m. Wim Derave, Ph.D., Ghent University, Belgium: Cellular Heterogeneity in Human Skeletal Muscle: Implications for Contractile Recruitment and Exercise Adaptation
10:15 a.m. Vladimir Ljubicic, Ph.D., McMaster University: Mechanisms of Exercise-induced Neuromuscular Plasticity in Health and Disease
10:40 a.m. Kevin Murach, Ph.D., University of Arkansas, USA: The Age-Dependent Multi-Omic Myonuclear Response to a Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophic Stimulus
11:05 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
11:25 a.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
Concurrent Session 11: Exercise and Inter/Intra-organ Crosstalk
9:50 a.m.
Crystal Ballroom
Session chairs: Siobhan Craige, Virginia Tech, and Kenya Takahashi, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Kindly sponsored by the Virginia Tech Metabolism Core
9:50 a.m. Bret Goodpaster, Ph.D., AdventHealth, USA: Molecular Transducers Orchestrate the Physiological Responses to Acute Exercise
10:15 a.m. Karim Bouzakri, Ph.D., ILONOV, France: How Myokines Can Affect Beta Cell Function
10:40 a.m. Fernanda De Felice, Ph.D., Queen's University, Canada: Unveiling the Role of FNDC5/irisin and Exercise in Alzheimer’s Disease
11:05 a.m. 2 x 10-minute oral presentations from submitted abstracts
11:25 a.m. 3 x 3-minute data blast
12 p.m. Poster Awards and Closing Ceremony
Roanoke Ballroom
12:20 - 1:20 p.m. Catered/Boxed Lunches
Crystal Ballroom