Interview Video: Professor Kivanç Birsoy, Recipient of 2025 Sable Award
Dr. Kivanç Birsoy, recipient of the 2025 Sable Award for outstanding contributions to the field of metabolic physiology, was interviewed about receiving the award and the future direction of metabolic physiology research. The interview took place at the beautiful Sonesta Resort on Hilton Head Island, SC, during the 3rd annual Metabolic Physiology Meeting.
On receiving the award, Dr. Birsoy stated “It’s a tremendous honor, and the people who chose me are the people that I admire and respect. There are a lot of other fantastic talented people in our field, and I feel lucky to get this award.” Dr. Birsoy was presented with the award and $20,000 honorarium at the conclusion of the meeting.
When asked about the major questions that metabolic physiologists must answer, Dr. Birsoy stated “Obviously, metabolism is quite complex, but as we get to the basics of it and understand the components of metabolism, I think we slowly need to go more in the in-vivo systems – like mouse models and tissue context. And the way to do that is coming up with technologies, for example, looking at how different metabolites are regulated in cells, in organelles, and in different contexts under disease conditions. And for that I believe there is quite a bit of work that needs to be done understanding temporal regulation of metabolism perhaps, understanding in different compartments, I think that’s an area that is poorly understood. And doing that also, of course, in a more physiologically relevant context.” Dr. Birsoy’s complete interview can be seen in this video.
The meeting organizer, Dr. Phillip White, stated that Dr. Birsoy will join the Sable Award Panel of past keynote speakers and Sable Award recipients. The panel selects the recipient of next year’s Sable Award from the pool of speakers at the 2025 Metphys Meeting. For more information about the 2026 Metabolic Physiology Meeting, please contact phillip.white@duke.edu.
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