Since its inception in 2004, this Gordon Research Conference has become recognized as the foremost venue for creating valuable interactions among scientists from many biological and medical fields, with a common interest in understanding the role of the vascular endothelium in health and disease. The aims of this conference are to i. provide a forum for direct and intense discussion in vital and emerging areas, ii. discuss the mechanisms that mediate phenotypic heterogeneity of the endothelium, iii. apply these considerations to an understanding of vascular disease states, and iv. encourage new avenues of research and development. The novel focus and cross-disciplinary nature of this meeting provides the much-needed opportunity to explore the distinct functions of endothelial cells at different developmental time points, in different organs and vascular beds, and as a crucial player in a range of pathologies and disease processes. This meeting is guaranteed to be stimulating, informative, thought-provoking and controversial!