Pancreas and Liver Development and Disease

Defects in organogenesis or function of liver and pancreas lead to debilitating diseases, including diabetes and cirrhosis. Understanding the processes by which these organs form during development and how cells are regenerated upon injury in adult tissue is critical to further our insights into how disease affecting these organs and how they might be treated in a more efficient manner than currently possible. Indeed, there is an urgent need for generating liver hepatocytes and pancreatic endocrine islets to treat severe liver failure and diabetes by transplantation. To accomplish this goal, it is imperative to fully understand how these organs are formed within the embryo and how they function at adult stages.