Monther Abu-Remaileh's lab at Stanford University is interested in identifying novel pathways that enable cellular and organismal adaptation to metabolic stress and changes in environmental conditions. They also study how these pathways go awry in human diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and metabolic syndrome, in order to engineer new therapeutic modalities. To achieve these goals, the lab uses multidisciplinary approaches, including metabolomics, proteomics and functional genomics, to study the biochemical functions of the lysosome. Lysosomes are membrane-bound compartments that degrade macromolecules and clear damaged organelles to enable cellular adaptation to various metabolic states. Lysosomal function is critical for organismal homeostasis—mutations in genes encoding lysosomal proteins cause severe human disorders known as lysosomal storage diseases, and lysosome dysfunction is implicated in age-associated diseases especially neurodegeneration.