The Hays’ lab studies the structural and regulatory mechanisms that drive intracellular transport. At a basic level the regulation of microtubule-based transport within cells is dependent on the cytoplasmic motor proteins (dyneins and kinesins) that translocate along the microtubule lattice. These unidirectional motors, in combination with the assembly of polarized arrays of microtubules within cells, provide a mechanism to partition cellular organelles and molecules within a cell's cytoplasmic compartment. Malfunctions in motor function influence global aspects of cell biology including the establishment of cell polarities, the maintenance of genomic stability, and cell-cell communication an underlie a growing list of medical maladies including cancer and neurodegeneration. The Hays’ laboratory is applying genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches in Drosophila to study the molecular regulation of motor proteins and intercellular transport.