STARD9 (StAR related lipid transfer domain containing 9) is a microtubule-dependent motor protein that plays essential roles in mitotic spindle assembly and cell division. As a member of the kinesin-3 family, STARD9 localizes to centrosomes, specifically the daughter centriole, and is critical for maintaining pericentriolar material (PCM) cohesion during early mitosis 1. The protein regulates both interphase and spindle microtubule dynamics, promoting microtubule stability and assembly 2. STARD9 depletion leads to fragmented PCM, multipolar spindle formation, spindle assembly checkpoint activation, mitotic arrest, and apoptosis 1. The protein contains a unique insertion in loop 12 of its motor domain that regulates stability through phosphorylation by mitotic kinases including Plk1, targeting it for SCFβ-TrCP-mediated ubiquitination and proteasome degradation 3. Clinically, STARD9 variants have been associated with clozapine-induced neutropenia 4 and newly identified in monogenic epilepsies with absence seizures 5. STARD9 depletion synergizes with taxol treatment to increase mitotic death, suggesting potential as an antimitotic cancer therapeutic target 1.