Symposium: Stem Cells and Human Liver Disease

The liver provides essential metabolic, exocrine and endocrine functions. Many forms of human liver disease can currently be treated only with orthotopic liver transplant. Biological and technical advances related with human embryonic stem cells suggest that pluripotency may provide an alternative cell-based therapy for liver disease. Development of methods and tools to engineer stem cells is necessary to generate renewable cultures of functional human hepatocytes for clinical-grade, cell therapies. This Symposium will explore the recent progress in liver development and stem cell differentiation in the context of cell therapy for chronic liver disease. The symposium provides a unique opportunity for basic and clinical researchers to interact and receive up-to-date training on the application of pluripotent stem cells to regenerative medicine.

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