Cell biologist Michael Overholtzer studies the mechanisms of tumor initiation and progression, cell adhesion, and cell death.The Overholtzer lab studies mechanisms of nutrient sensing and cellular responses to nutrient starvation, including the nutrient recycling pathway autophagy, scavenging pathways such as macropinocytosis, and mechanisms of cell death. We investigate cell death mechanisms that have unique effects on cell populations, including entosis that supports the survival of starved cells and promotes cell competition, and ferroptosis that eliminates starved cell populations by propagating from cell to cell. The lab also studies mechanisms that regulate autophagy protein and lysosome function in endocytic trafficking and nutrient homeostasis.