Peter Kasson

Professor

Research

The Kasson lab studies biological membrane structure, dynamics, and fusion, with particular application to how viruses gain entry to cells and understanding the physical constraints on viral evolution. The group performs both high-level experimental and computational work – a powerful combination that is critical to advancing our understanding of this important problem. Recent publications describe inventive approaches to the measurement of viral fusion rates and characterization of fusion mechanisms, and to the modeling of large-scale biomolecular and lipid assemblies. We have applied these insights to the prediction of pandemic outbreaks and drug resistance, with particular attention to Zika, SARS-CoV-2, and influenza pathogens in recent years. See https://kassonlab.org/ for more information.