Dr. Ogretmen's research is focused on deciphering the regulation and function of bioactive sphingolipids, specifically ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate, in cancer development/progression and therapy. Specifically, he investigates the roles and mechanisms of action of ceramide, an emerging tumor suppressor lipid which induces antiproliferative and apoptotic responses. The long-term goal of these studies is to develop mechanism-based therapeutic strategies against human cancers.