For his Ph.D., Mohan Somasundaran investigated protein-ligand interactions of sialic acid binding lectin (Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Calcutta and Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ). His postdoctoral studies were on lysosomal storage diseases (Washington University, St. Louis), and on HIV-1 cytopathology (Worcester Foundation/UMass Medical School). He continued as faculty at UMass Medical School to pursue molecular virology projects focusing on genotypic and phenotypic factors of cell-entry, replication and donor-to-recipient transmission of HIV, EBV, CMV, IAV and emerging infectious human pathogens (SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV2). He was the Director of BSL-3 Core Virus Lab and is member of UMass IBC.

His research interests are to: 

Develop new molecular, cellular and molecular virology techniques for application in various research and translational projects specifically related to HIV-1, Influenza virus, SARS-CoV2

• Virus-Cell entry, replication and interactions
• Reverse genetics assays
• Structure-function assays for HIV/Influenza/SARS-CoV2 proteins and host-cell restriction (Apobec3) proteins
• Structure-based drug design and next generation antivirals
• Pyrosequencing of viral genomes
• Virus detection and quantification assays
• Point of Care early diagnostic assays for human pathogens

Utilize state-of-the-art structural biology techniques (i.e. Cryo-EM/ET) and interface with virology techniques to investigate virus structure vs infectivity, replication, evolution/fitness of Influenza virus, HIV-1 and SARS-CoV2