Thomas Palaia has been involved in research for over 40 years, first in clinical electron microscopy and then in many aspects of basic science utilizing all aspects of microscopy (e.g., fluorescent, phase contrast, confocal, immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy), molecular biology (e.g., transfections, cloning, PCR, RT-PCR, genotyping, single nucleotide polymorphism determination, gene expression), Western blot analysis, ELISA, enzyme immunoassays, radioimmunoassays, multiplex arrays, protein separation techniques, immuno-precipitation, and all aspects of animal handling. He has experience with experimental design and lab management, and his work has been presented in over 58 publications. For the last 20 years, his focus has been on the study of L-PGDS lipocalin prostaglandin D2 synthase and connecting this multifunctional glycoprotein to a variety of diseases including cancer, preterm birth, diabetes, and obesity. During the pandemic, he was the first to show by TEM that the COVID-19 virus can be detected in the placenta, and he was able to identify it in many organs throughout the body. Most recently, he is working with the Reiss lab to examine mitochondrial structure in neurons under the electron microscope in Alzheimer’s disease, documenting the effect of pharmacological interventions on the size and shape of these organelles.