The field of bioenergetics is rapidly expanding with new discoveries of mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets. The 2023 Keystone symposium on ‘Bioenergetics in Health and Disease’, which was jointly held with the symposium ‘Adipose Tissue: Energizing Good Fat’, consisted of a powerhouse line-up of researchers who shared their insights.

What do we think about when we think of bioenergetics? The truth is that there are many probable answers to this question. It concerns the way that our cells communicate both intrinsically and extrinsically, it governs the rhythm of our days and it is, at its core, critical to all facets of life itself. Over a week in January, researchers from all over the world gathered in Keystone, CO, USA, for the 2023 Keystone symposium on ‘Bioenergetics in Health and Disease’ to share their perspectives on what bioenergetics means to them. The organizers (Shingo Kajimura, Anna Krook and Jared Rutter) composed a multifaceted symposium, including sessions on metabolic flux, interorganelle communication, exercise physiology, circadian rhythms and many more. The conference was jointly held with a related Keystone symposium (‘Adipose Tissue: Energizing Good Fat’), organized by Silvia Corvera, Kendra Bence and Rana Gupta. The overarching goal of both meetings was similar: to address emerging questions in bioenergetics and adipose tissue, from the molecular to organismal level, in the context of metabolic diseases and in relation to human health. In addition to high-quality presentations in which speakers generously shared their latest research, the conference ran several workshops that were focused on early-career researchers and that covered topics including novel technologies and recent insights into bioenergetics, how to efficiently bridge basic and clinical science, and research career opportunities. The organizers and conference staff together succeeded not only in composing a scientifically rigorous programme, but also in providing an environment in which collaborations and new interactions were encouraged.