UMCUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · Biology
Baehrecke Autophagy Lab
Eric H Baehrecke · Worcester, Massachusetts
Research Focus
Eric H Baehrecke's lab at the University of Massachusetts Medical School studies the process of autophagy, which is how cells recycle and dispose of cellular waste. The research focuses on understanding how autophagy is regulated during the development of the fruit fly (Drosophila), providing insights that could help us understand similar processes in humans and how they are linked to diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration. By studying autophagy in specific cell types in the intestines, the lab aims to uncover how different cellular components are selected for degradation, which could lead to new therapeutic strategies for human health.
autophagyDrosophilacellular degradationdevelopmenthuman diseasecancerneurodegenerationcell biologyintestinal healthcargo selection
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how autophagy is regulated during the development of Drosophila.
AIM 02Identify the genes that control mitochondrial clearance via autophagy.
AIM 03Determine the genes involved in the clearance of endoplasmic reticulum by autophagy.
AIM 04Explore the differences in how organelle cargo is selected for autophagic degradation.
AIM 05Understand the cell context-specific mechanisms that regulate autophagy in developing tissues.
Skills the Lab Values
genetic manipulationcell culturemicroscopymolecular cloningRNA interferencebioinformaticsdata analysisphenotypic screeningprotein extractionWestern blot
Output against the department
Publications186top 35% of dept.361st of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations53ktop 5% of dept.48th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.