Postdoctoral Associates

I have received my B.S. in Biology from Jimma University. I then received his M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Addis Ababa University with a research focus on the association between nutritional status and HAART outcome in HIV-infected Ethiopians. After working as a Lecturer in Wollo University-Ethiopia, I joined the ZIBI graduate school and obtained my Ph.D. in Virology from Humboldt University of Berlin. During my Ph.D. thesis work in the laboratory of Prof. Norbert Bannert at the Robert Koch Institute, I analyzed HIV/HCV coinfections among newly diagnosed HIV cases in Germany. Specifically, I investigated the years 2015-2017 regarding prevalence of these coinfections, the rate of resolved HCV infections, HCV-genotypes and resistance associated mutations. I have the joined the Ho Lab at Yale University in 2021, working on single-cell understanding of HIV persistence. Outside of the lab, I enjoy reading newsletters, watching sports, and hiking.

Academic BackgroundPostdoctoral Associate, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University, (9/1/2021-present)Postgraduate Fellow, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University (9/1/2019-3/6/2020)Joint Ph.D., Center of Cryo-Electron Microscopy, Zhejiang University (9/1/2018-6/30/2020 )Ph.D., Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University (9/1/2016-6/30/2021)Exchange Student, Major in mining engineering, University of Wollongong, Australia (7/22/2015-1/22/2016) B.S. Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (9/1/2012-6/30/2016)Research InterestsHow the rotatory motor functionsSubcellular 3D imaging inside the cellBiosynthesis and bioengineering of microalgae cells

I received my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Michigan State University, where I worked in the laboratory of Dr. Christoph Benning studying lipid biosynthesis in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. I completed my Ph.D. training in the laboratory of Dr. Rey Carabeo studying novel mechanisms of gene regulation in the obligately intracellular bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, during which I was awarded an F31 training grant through NIAID. This experience cultivated my continued interest in how pathogens sense and respond to their environment, particularly during infection. I therefore chose to pursue a postdoctoral position at the Yale School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Eduardo Groisman studying how the model bacterial pathogen Salmonella governs central metabolic functions during nutritional stress conditions relevant to infection. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, hiking and exploring dog parks with my canine companions.

Dr. Tachiyama earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Kansas in 2020. In his Ph.D. projects, he used biophysical and microbiological approaches to research molecular functions and protein interactions in the cytoplasmic side of the Shigella type III secretion system. In 2020, he joined Dr. Jun Liu’s laboratory at Yale as a Postdoctoral Associate and has continued to research Shigella T3SS using in situ experiments. This research project is conducted in collaboartion with Dr. William Picking, University of Kansas. Dr. Tachiyama’s research also focuses on structural details of flagella in Helicobacter pylori using the in situ approaches, and this project is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Timothy Hoover, University of Georgia.