Sphingolipids are special lipid compounds that interact with some very basic life processes, such as helping to organize the internal contents of a cell, or deciding whether a cell should grow and multiply or stop dividing and die. As a result of these interactions, the impact sphingolipids can have on the fate of a cell or an entire organism may dramatic. By uncovering the details of sphingolipid metabolism, we aim to discover how sphingolipids have become so intricately woven into the life and death of the cell.

Although first discovered in brain tissue, where they are very abundant, sphingolipids have been found in all organisms examined so far throughout the fungal, animal and plant kingdoms. Sphingolipids were discovered in 1884 by J.L.W. Thudichum through his experiments on the chemical constituents of the brain. He coined the term "sphingosin" to name these unique lipids after the riddle setting Sphinx of Greek mythology in "commemoration of the many enigmas which it has presented to the inquirer." Still today, over 100 years later, sphingolipids continues to challenge and pose new riddles for scientists to solve.