Abstract

The past ten years have seen an explosion of information regarding intestinal stem cells (ISCs), due to an improved ability to identify ISCs, follow their fates, and manipulate ISCs in vitro. The next frontier in the ISC field is understanding the role that dysregulated ISC behavior plays in the etiology of disease, and conversely, the impact of intestinal disease on proper ISC function. This meeting will bring together a diverse group of investigators to discuss topics such as how the environment of the small intestine and colon impacts ISC behavior in healthy and diseased states, how ISC behavior and the niche differ along the proximal-distal axis of the intestine, and the strengths of various models for investigating the relationship between ISCs, the niche, and the onset and propagation of disease states.