Research in Dr. Hong-Gang Wang's laboratory is concerned with understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that control programmed cell death (PCD) in the context of oncogenesis. Drug discovery through the development of small molecules that directly target core components of the cell death machinery is another of the major research interests of Dr. Wang and his laboratory co-workers. There are at least three types of cell death, namely apoptosis (type I), autophagy (type II) and necrosis (type III). Apoptosis is the most well-defined form of physiological cell death and has long been used as a synonym for PCD. In contrast, necrosis has been thought to be a passive or accidental form of cell death. However, recent studies suggest that necrosis can be programmed as well. Autophagy was described about 50 years ago as a lysosome-dependent cellular degradation process. It is generally agreed that autophagy is a cytoprotective mechanism. However, accumulating evidence in recent years has also indicated that autophagy acts as a cell death executor under certain circumstances, especially when apoptosis is inhibited. Although extensive crosstalk clearly exists between apoptosis, autophagy and necrosis, the regulators that govern this crosstalk remain far from clear. Dr. Wang's group has recently demonstrated that the loss of Bif-1 not only affects mitochondrial apoptosis but also impairs autophagy and programmed necrosis. Bif-1 (also known as SH3GLB1 or Endophilin B1) is a member of the endophilin family that was originally discovered as a Bax-binding protein. Importantly, the expression of Bif-1 is lost or reduced in many types of human cancer, and knockout of Bif-1 promotes tumor development in mice. Currently, his group is exploring the precise mechanisms underlying Bif-1-mediated apoptosis, autophagy and necrosis to investigate how Bif-1 regulates tumor development. The ultimate goal of Dr. Wang's laboratory is to translate basic science research discoveries to the development of new approaches for the prevention and treatment of cancer.