The importance of cilia in disease and development creates a point of convergence for developmental biologists studying the Hedgehog pathway and left-right axis patterning, for cell biologists interested in compartmentalized signal transduction, for biochemists working on microtubule motors, and for human geneticists studying ciliopathies. This program emphasizes frontier approaches and novel themes, such as the emerging role of cholesterol as a second messenger in Hedgehog signaling, GPCR signaling in neuronal cilia and the evolutionary conservation of cilium-based signaling. This program is built around the central question of how compartmentalization of signaling pathways by cilia enables novel and distinct signaling modalities. This emphasis on signaling and disease is distinct from the focus of other cilia-centered meetings that are projected to take place in 2020 and 2021.