Dr. Bassik's lab studies how endocytic pathogens such as bacterial toxins, viruses, and protein aggregates enter the cell, disrupt homeostasis, and cause apoptosis. More broadly, they would like to understand how diverse stresses induced by biological, chemical, and therapeutic agents signal to the cell death machinery. 

To do this, they use basic cell biology and biochemistry, as well as novel ultra-complex shRNA libraries they have developed, which have allowed the first systematic genetic interaction maps in mammalian cells. A complementary interest is the development of technologies for screening and measuring genetic interactions, with the ultimate goal of finding synergistic drug targets for endocytic pathogens and other diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.