The Jennifer Foulke-Abel Lab engages in basic and translational research focused on how intestinal epithelia interface with their environment. Our work is powered by human adult stem cell-derived intestinal organoids, which capture the unique genetic and phenotypic traits of an individual and enable a personalized approach to understanding epithelial pathophysiology. One project in the lab centers on dissecting the factors involved in mucosal recognition of pathogenic bacteria with the goal to optimize vaccine engineering. A second area of interest is characterizing the altered intestinal stem cell programming associated with dietary nutrient absorption and hormone secretion in obesity to tailor weight-loss therapies.