Walther H. Mothes
Walther H. Mothes, who studies the viral spread and pathogenesis of HIV-1, other retroviruses, and SARS-CoV-2, was recently appointed Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine. He is also a professor of microbial pathogenesis.
After graduating in chemistry from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Mothes obtained his Ph.D. in cell biology, also by Humboldt, for his studies on protein secretion and membrane protein integration at the endoplasmic reticulum at Harvard Medical School. In 2001 he moved to the faculty at Yale, where he was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and tenure in 2011.
His laboratory studies the spread, pathogenesis and persistence of viral infections on several levels. Non-invasive bioluminescence imaging enables these processes to be monitored at the organism level in living animals. Whole body imaging leads to studies of infected tissues that can be used to assess events at the single cell level using multiphoton laser scanning microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Electron tomography allows insights on an ultrastructural level.
To understand molecular events during virus entry into cells, the laboratory used single molecule imaging of viral spike proteins from HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. Parallel single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) and cryo-electron tomography (CryoET) enable insights into the structure and dynamics of these molecular machines.
A detailed understanding of these processes will aid the rational design of immunogens for vaccines, the development of small molecule inhibitors that target viral spike proteins to prevent new cell infection and subsequent spread, and strategies for functional healing from Point out people who have lived a long time. Term antiviral therapy.