President
Justin Lemkul is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech. He received both his B.S. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech before completing a four-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Computer-Aided Drug Design Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He began is independent career as an assistant professor in 2017 and currently serves as the Graduate Program Director in Biochemistry. His research focus is on computational modeling and simulation of biomolecules to understand structure-function relationships and engage in computer-aided drug design. He has particular interest in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s (the subject of his doctoral dissertation) and cancer. Justin is active in the development of the GROMACS and CHARMM simulation packages, as well as the Drude polarizable force field.
Justin has been a faculty senator since 2020 and has served on the Commission on Faculty Affairs since 2022, including as chair from Fall 2023 - Spring 2025. He was inducted into the Academy of Faculty Service in 2025.
Contact: jalemkul@vt.edu
Duties of the Faculty Senate president are:
- Representing the faculty to the Board of Visitors and the administration;
- Presiding at all meetings of the Faculty Senate and cabinet; and
- Performing duties prescribed in the constitution and bylaws or appropriate to the office.