Lab Members

Dr. Mothes studied chemistry (Diploma 1993) and received a Ph.D. in cell biology (Humboldt-University Berlin, 1998) for his studies on protein secretion and membrane protein integration at the endoplasmic reticulum under the mentorship of Dr. Tom Rapoport at Harvard Medical School. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. John Young and James Cunningham on retroviral entry before he started his own laboratory at Yale University in 2001. Dr. Mothes received Tenure in 2011, was promoted to Full Professor in 2016, and became the Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine in 2021.

I am a second year Microbiology PhD student in the lab of Dr. Walther Mothes where I study virus cell-to-cell transmission and Fc receptor signaling through live cell imaging approaches. I have a strong interest in virology and HIV-host interactions to help develop accessible solutions for the populations most impacted by these health crises. Outside of lab, I volunteer in STEM outreach organizations and serve as a mentor for students from underrepresented backgrounds. I also enjoy dancing as part of some teams on campus. I graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2023 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Molecular & Cellular Biology (MCB), where I was a Stamps Scholar. I was awarded Highest Distinction and Academic Distinction in MCB for my senior thesis on “Structural and biochemical mechanisms of HIV latency reactivation in monocytes, macrophages, and T-cells” in the laboratory of Dr. Collin Kieffer.

I am very happy to join in Mothes lab. I work on projects to understand the conformational changes of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein on the surface of virus particles by parallel cryo Electron Tomography (CryoET) and single molecule Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET).  I am also working on COVID19 research to understand the structural conformational change of spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. These projects will provide insights into not only basic science like how envelope mediates fusion of virus with host cell but also translational science aiding an vaccine and anti-retroviral therapies.

I am a third year PhD candidate in the Mothes Lab. I have a B.A. in Genetics from Rutgers University where I worked in the lab of Dr. Monica Roth on the murine leukemia virus integrase protein. I now study the HIV envelope glycoprotein in the Mothes lab. My thesis marries static and dynamic methods to build a complete picture of the HIV fusion process. I am also the co-founder and Head Director of Yale Science Communication - A Graduate Student Organization. We as an organization aim to ignite scientific engagement across diverse communities and train effective science communicators. To this end, we give talks about science to the lay public at venues ranging from libraries to local bars across New Haven and beyond. As Head Director I have presented several talks through YSC, and now I guide new speakers through the process of creating their own talks. I am passionate about science communication and science education, and I plan to pursue this career path after I graduate with my doctoral degree.

Dr. Pradeep Uchil is Research Scientist in the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis at Yale University. He received his PhD in Molecular Virology at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, where he elucidated the architecture of flavivirus replication complexes. He completed his postdoctoral studies at Yale University with Prof. Walther Mothes in Retrovirus Cell Biology and Innate Immunity. Dr. Uchil studies how viruses replicate, spread, and interact with hosts to cause disease using mouse infection models. He has expertise in innate immunity, viral immunology, and elucidating virus-host interactions using imaging-based approaches that span multiple scales of resolution from the whole body to the ultrastructure. Specifically, he utilizes noninvasive whole-body bioluminescence imaging (BLI) as an unbiased guide for the identification and in-depth characterization of key tissues and physiologically relevant cell types that contribute to virus spread, pathogenesis, and immune control. He is well recognized for his expertise in imaging and its application to uncover both fundamental and translational aspects of virus infection in mouse models.