Overview
Research in the Baskin lab centers on synthetic lipid biology and the chemical and cell biology of membrane organization, lipid metabolism, and signaling. The lab engineers bioorthogonal, optogenetic, and chemoproteomic tools to probe lipid function in living cells, including strategies for lipid imaging, membrane editing, and spatially resolved analysis of membrane composition and dynamics. Using these and other approaches, the lab investigates mechanisms governing lipid homeostasis, inter-organelle communication, and lipid-mediated signaling in physiology and disease.
Research Focus
Lipids are a diverse group of hydrophobic metabolites that function as energy stores, components of membranes, and signaling molecules, and dysregulation of lipid metabolism occurs in many diseases. Whereas lipids have been traditionally studied using in vitro or genetic techniques, chemical biology and synthetic biology approaches can enable the rapid and precise interrogation of lipid and membrane biology within living systems. The Baskin Lab deploys a unique blend of chemical biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and synthetic biology approaches to develop innovative methods for imaging and editing various classes of lipids in vivo. We are motivated to answer biological questions about how lipids control fundamental processes in the cell, including ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, membrane trafficking, and regulation of proliferation and the cell cycle. By working at the interface of chemical biology and cell biology, our work enables a virtuous cycle wherein development of new tools propels our biological inquiry while these mechanistic, biological studies in turn motivate the development of additional new methods. Collectively, our studies have elucidated mechanisms of fundamental biological processes and also contributed to the understanding of perturbations in lipid signaling that occur in cancer.
Awards and Honors
Ono Pharma Breakthrough Science Initiative Award
ACS Chemical Biology Young Investigator Award
Young Chemical Biologist Award, International Chemical Biology Society
Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research, ASBMB
ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Young Investigator
Sloan Research Fellowship
National Science Foundation CAREER Award
Beckman Young Investigator Award
Professional Experience
Director, Cornell Chemistry–Biology Interface Program
Associate Editor, Biochemistry
Affiliations
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology
Publications
Please see a complete publication list on the Baskin Lab website.
Selected recent publications from the Baskin Lab:
- Huang S, Kim Y, Cao X, Bumpus TW, Sohn M, Menold MT, Dale RS, Kang J, Uematsu S, Gupta S, Shu Qian S, Yu H, Balla T*, Baskin JM*. “Phosphatidylserine and RhoB connect phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidic acid metabolism at the plasma membrane.” J Cell Biol (2026) 225, 8, e202509213.
- Luan L, Xia Z*,Cao X*, Vaid S, Leonetti MD, Baskin JM. “Cullin-3 adaptor SHKBP1 inhibits SQSTM1/p62 oligomerization and Keap1 sequestration.” J Cell Biol (2026) 225, 4, e202501207.
- Tei R, Li XL, Luan L, Baskin JM. “Membrane editing with proximity labeling reveals regulators of lipid homeostasis.” Nat Chem Biol (2026) 22, 728–739.
- Chiu D-C, Cho Y-T, Lin H, Baskin JM. “Photoaffinity Labeling Reveals a Role for the Unusual Triply Acylated Phospholipid N-Acylphosphatidylethanolamine in Lactate Homeostasis.” J Am Chem Soc (2025) 147, 37, 33386–33394.
- Uematsu M, Baskin JM. “Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing.” eLife (2025) 12, RP88794.
- Cao X, Huang S, Wagner M, Cho Y-T, Chiu D-C, Wartchow KM, Lazarian A, McIntire LB, Smolka MB, Baskin JM. “A phosphorylation-controlled switch confers cell cycle-dependent protein relocalization.” Nat Cell Biol (2024) 26, 1804–1816.
- Li, X-L, Tei R, Uematsu M, Baskin JM. “Ultralow background membrane editors for spatiotemporal control of lipid metabolism and signaling.” ACS Cent Sci (2024) 10, 3, 543–554.
- Tei R, Bagde SR, Fromme JC, Baskin JM. “Activity-based directed evolution of a membrane editor in mammalian cells.” Nat Chem (2023) 15, 1030–1039.
In the news
- Immunology center announces 2026 multidisciplinary seed grant recipients
- Newly identified protein interaction helps keep cells’ recycling system in balance
- Cornell team finds new way to cut cancer’s lipid lifeline
- ‘Three-tailed’ lipid helps cells survive during heart attack, stroke
- ‘Breakthrough Science’ grant supports disease-targeting lipid research
- Graduate Student Invited to Prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
- Postdoc Named Blavatnik Regional Award Finalist
- Lipid expansion microscopy uses the ‘power of click chemistry’
- Cornell chemists contributed to Nobel Prize-winning work
- Baskin lab identifies pathway for treating deadly melanomas
- Campus community donates essential medical supplies
- Baskin wins young investigator award for lipid research
- Ramshaw, Lin and Baskin win Sloan fellowships
- The mysterious lipid signal
- Advance in lipid imaging could impact cancer treatment
- Baskin, Chang win Beckman Young Investigator award
- Meinig Investigator sees path to disease cure in lipids
Courses - Spring 2026
- CHEM 4430 : Introduction to Chemical Biology Research
- CHEM 4610 : Introduction to Organic Chemistry Research