diff --git a/src/mol-state/object.ts b/src/mol-state/object.ts
index 706b84bb5ed7a81c0cb3cb032a7a8bdb919accc1..a57faf389a46dc64816fefc5f8a23d648e20c4c3 100644
--- a/src/mol-state/object.ts
+++ b/src/mol-state/object.ts
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ export class StateObjectTracker<T extends StateObject> {
         const changed = this.cell !== cell || this.version !== version;
         this.cell = cell;
         this.version = version || '';
-        this.data = cell.obj ? cell.obj.data as T : void 0 as any;
+        this.data = cell && cell.obj ? cell.obj.data as T : void 0 as any;
         return changed;
     }