Autophagy refers to the intracellular processes that causes cytoplasmic components (from molecules to organelles) to be transported into the lysosome for degradation. The Mendenhall lab is studying how the process of autophagy changes in different cell types during the course of aging. They want to know what kinds of failures occur in lysosomes as animals age; they are currently focused on dissecting failures of lysosomal proteases and V-ATPases.