Jonathan Abraham studies how viruses infect cells and replicate their genomes. His lab uses molecular virology and structural biology methods to study how viral spike proteins bind to receptors when infecting cells, how neutralizing antibodies block viral infection, and – once viruses infect cells – how viral polymerases replicate and/or transcribe viral genomes. A particular focus of the lab is emerging viruses. Abraham’s lab aims to bolster outbreak preparedness by carrying out basic, fundamental studies on the proteins that play critical roles in the life cycles of these viruses.