Michael Lazarus is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacological Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. His lab is interested in using structural and chemical biology to understand metabolic pathways like autophagy, a conserved process whereby cellular components are degraded for energy, building blocks, and quality control. The group is looking at how cells respond to nutrient changes and how these mechanisms can be exploited in human diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes to inborn errors of metabolism. Their goal is to better understand these key enzymes through crystallography and to develop chemical probes to help study their function.