The first Aspen Lipid Conference met in August 1977, as part of a series of conferences sponsored by the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC). The major focus of the conference was hepatic cholesterol and bile acid metabolism. Dr. Fred Kern, Jr. was the first conference chair and Dr. Scott Grundy the co-chair. Due to the enthusiasm generated for the conference, and to a generous founding endowment by the Colorado Trust, the Aspen Conference, Inc. was formed in 1987 as a non-profit corporation whose function is to organize and partially fund an annual conference related to lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. The central office of the Aspen Lipid Conference, located at the UCHSC, also administers the Given Institute Conference Center, the annual site of the conference in Aspen, CO. The conferences are organized and conducted under the guidance of a Board of Directors, members of which are regular attendees and recognized investigators in various aspects of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. In 1996, through a unanimous vote by the board of Directors, the Aspen Lipid Conference was renamed the Kern Aspen Lipid Conference in recognition of its leading proponent Dr. Fred Kern, Jr. who died in May 1997. Attendance at the Aspen Conference is limited to approximately 125 participants. Special efforts are made by the Chairs to have a mixed and varied audience, consisting of established investigators, junior faculty, trainees and pharmaceutical industry scientists. On average, 40% of the attendees are junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows or graduate students. The 2002 Conference will convene on August 17-20 and address the topic: "Fatty Acid Transport and Metabolism In Health and Disease: Impact on Insulin Action/Secretion and Body Weight Regulation". The Co-Chairs will be Drs. Robert Eckel (UCHSC), and Gerald Shulman (Yale University). To begin the conference, Michael Brown will provide an update of the Brown/Goldstein laboratory on the molecular processes by which genes of fatty acid and lipid synthesis are regulated by sterols. Session 1 "Membrane and Intracellular Transport of Fatty Acids" will integrate our newer understanding of how fatty acids are transported. Session 2 "Cellular Effects of Fatty Acids" will focus on the molecular and biochemical aspects of lipid synthesis and oxidative metabolism. Session 3 "Adipose Tissue Fatty Acid Turnover and Beyond" will concentrate on recent advances in adipocyte metabolism. Session 4 "Fatty Acids, Insulin Action/Secretion and Body Weight Regulation" will concentrate on recent data that expand the mechanisms by which fatty acids modify insulin action in insulin sensitive tissues, insulin secretion and body weight. In addition to the four oral sessions, two poster sessions will provide further opportunity for participants to discuss new insights and discoveries related to fatty acid transport and metabolism. Funds to support young investigators and five speakers are requested. This conference focuses on an important topic of our time, fatty acids. The history of the meeting promises another profitable experience for all who attend.