Basar is currently employing biochemical and genetic approaches to explore how the CULLIN-E3 ubiquitin ligase determines the specification of human embryonic stem cells into to neuronal cells. Previously, he investigated the physiological role of the single Drosophila homolog of mammalian PGC-1, Spargel/dPGC-1. His investigation on Spargel/dPGC-1, has led to identifying a novel function in the Drosophila oogenesis. He showed that the loss of germline Spargel ceased the development of egg chambers resulting in complete female sterility. The phenotypic similarity between Spargel knockdown and InR-dTor mutant egg chambers led to conclude that Spargel might be necessary to process TOR-mediated amino acid signaling axis in oogenesis. He also showed that the loss of Spargel/dPGC-1 disrupted endosomal trafficking, which, in turn triggered aggregation of Notch and aberrant Notch signaling in the ovaries.
