Our lab is focused on the molecular and biochemical pathways that regulate, and are regulated by, ceramide in the context of apoptosis and the stress response. The main impetus for this work has been to improve our understanding of the signaling pathways in response to stress and to identify p53-independent pathways of ceramide regulation and apoptosis that could emerge as candidates for targeted cancer therapy. Additionally, we are interested in the role played by sphingolipids in general, and ceramide in particular, in the response to viral infections, specifically adenovirus and influenza virus. At a more clinical level, our lab is interested in the epidemiology, burden of disease, and virulence determinants of S. pneumoniae and N. meningititdis, influenza, RSV, and rotavirus.