Session A: The Nobel Laureate Distinguished Plenary Lecture

Gregg L. Semenza, Ph.D. is the recipient of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded for his groundbreaking discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to changes in oxygen availability—work that transformed modern understanding of oxygen homeostasis and established the biological foundation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway. His research revealed key mechanisms by which cells respond to low oxygen levels, discoveries that have had profound implications for cancer, ischemic disease, anemia, and many other areas of medicine. He was also recognized with the 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for this landmark body of work. Dr. Semenza is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and serves as Director of the Vascular Program in the Institute for Cell Engineering. In addition to his primary appointment in Genetic Medicine, he holds faculty appointments spanning Pediatrics, Medicine, Oncology, Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, and Biological Chemistry, reflecting the extraordinary breadth of his scientific and translational impact. Over the course of his career, Dr. Semenza has defined central principles of how oxygen regulates gene expression and cellular adaptation. His work on HIF-1 and related pathways not only reshaped basic biology, but also opened major therapeutic avenues in oncology, vascular biology, and ophthalmology. At Johns Hopkins, his current research continues to explore the molecular mechanisms of oxygen homeostasis and the role of hypoxia-inducible factors in disease progression, including cancer and abnormal vascular responses. As one of the most influential physician-scientists in modern biomedical research, Dr. Semenza's discoveries have bridged fundamental science and clinical translation, inspiring new therapeutic strategies that target the HIF pathway across multiple disease areas. His Distinguished Plenary Lecture will offer a rare opportunity to hear directly from the scientist whose work fundamentally changed how the world understands cellular adaptation to oxygen and its relevance to human disease.