His research is focused on the basic biology of intestinal stem cells, the genes that control their behavior, and translational approaches to stem cell based therapies for human disease and injury of the intestine. Furthermore his research focuses on elucidating genetic mechanisms underlying stemness and developing translational models to establish a finer understanding of stem cell-driven regeneration dynamics in homeostasis and injury. Using a combination of genetic mouse models and micro-frabricated bioengineered platforms, Dr. Magness’ team is exploiting the self-renewal capacity and multipotency of ISCs to develop long-term ex vivo models of the intestine and colon with primary tissues. These biomimetic models offer new solutions for compound screening and cell-based therapies.