Rate My Professor Maolin Lu

Dr. Lu's multidisciplinary research integrates biophysical imaging, virology, molecular biology, structural biology, biochemistry, and computational biology to elucidate virus-host interactions for pathogens including HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, and HSV. Her lab investigates viral surface spike protein-mediated membrane fusion for host cell entry, antibody recognition and immune evasion mechanisms, modes of action of viral inhibitors, development of single-molecule technologies, and roles of host factors in viral entry. Key publications include 'Associating HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein structures with states on the virus observed by smFRET' in Nature (2019), 'Real-time conformational dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 spikes on virus particles' in Cell Host & Microbe (2020), 'Live imaging of SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice reveals that neutralizing antibodies require Fc function for optimal efficacy' in Immunity (2021), 'Conformational trajectory of the HIV-1 fusion peptide during CD4-induced envelope opening' in Nature Communications (2025), and 'RSV vaccine development: advances and fusion protein-focused strategies' in Frontiers in Immunology (2026). Her research is funded by NIH R35 MIRA ($1.8 million, first at UT Tyler), R01 ($2.2 million), R56, UT System STARs, Gilead Sciences, and amfAR. Awards include the 2025 UT System STARs Award, 2024 UT Tyler School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research, 2022 Gilead Research Scholar, 2021 and 2019 amfAR Mathilde Krim Fellowships, and 2021 UT System Rising STARs Award.