Frontiers of Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Physiology Research 2018

Postdoctoral trainees will perform experiments to study basic physiological processes including bile secretion and the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts using zebrafish. Mechanisms of diarrhea and gastric secretion will be examined with killifish opercula and frog intestine respectively. Confocal microscopy will be used to assess bile acid secretion in zebrafish, and in isolated rat hepatocyte sandwich cultures. Modern molecular biology and immunocytochemical approaches will be used to identify specific transport proteins and bioinformatic approaches will be used to analyze respective genes and gene sets, including mutations which disrupt these processes and result in clinical disease. Disease models of biliary atresia and liver regeneration will also be examined in zebrafish.

Fellows will benefit from close interactions with senior investigators in Liver and GI physiology and pathophysiology who will guide them through the performance of the experiments, share meals, and take the time to discuss their career goals. Fellows will benefit enormously by working closely with other fellows from different programs and sharing their insights into Liver and GI research.

The course is organized around several laboratory modules, including in-depth bioinformatics components, and separate sessions on “How to write a grant” and “How to write a paper and get it accepted in Hepatology or Gastroenterology”.