People

Acknowledging there will be major environmental and societal crises in the years ahead, Virginia Tech is home to the Fralin Life Sciences Institute dedicated to the discovery and innovation of the planet’s sustainability and tackling environmental and life science challenges.
Interim Executive Director

X.J. Meng, MD, MS, PhD
Interim Executive Director
Professor of Internal Medicine, VTC School of Medicine
University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology, VMCVM
X.J. Meng joined the Fralin Life Sciences Institute as the Interim Executive Director in 2021, and he and the leadership team are shaping the vision and strategic foci of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute. As an investment research institute, the Fralin Life Sciences Institute is an arm of the Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation, and strategically supports the environmental and life sciences research enterprise with state of the art research facilities, core services, thematically-focused research centers, and resources devoted to research development such as proposal development, facility management, and programmatic support.

Leadership Team
Bill Hopkins

Bill Hopkins
Associate Executive Director
hopkinsw@vt.edu
Kiyah Duffey

Kiyah Duffey
Director, Strategic Initiatives
kduffey7@vt.edu

Kirk Felton
Director, Operations
ckfelton@vt.edu

Erin Cassidy
Director, Talent Management
ecassidy@vt.edu

Janet Webster
Director, Administration
jbwebste@vt.edu

Research Center Directors
Director of Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens

Kylene Kehn-Hall
Associate Director
Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens
kkehnhall@vt.edu

Robert Weiss
Director
Center for Coastal Studies
weiszr@vt.edu
Bill Hopkins

Bill Hopkins
Director
Global Change Center
hopkinsw@vt.edu

Principal Scientists

Brenda Winkel
Principal Scientist, Steger Hall
winkel@vt.edu

Dennis Dean
Principal Scientist, Fralin Hall
deandr@vt.edu
Bill Hopkins

Eva Schmelz
Principal Scientist, Integrated Life Sciences Building
eschmelz@vt.edu

Birgit Scharf
Principal Scientist, Life Sciences 1
bscharf@vt.edu

Boris A. Vinatzer
Principal Scientist, Latham Hall
vinatzer@vt.edu

Administrative

Linda Casey Caudill
Managing Director, GlycoMIP
lcaudill@vt.edu

Jessica Zielske
Coordinator, Global Change Center
jcoker@vt.edu
Sharon Stacy

Sharon Stacy
Coordinator, Center for Coastal Studies
sharonstacy@vt.edu

Sarah Gouger
Coordinator, Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens (CeZAP)
sgouger@vt.edu

Crystal Founds
Coordinator, Translational Plant Sciences Center
crystalf@vt.edu

Education & Outreach

Kristy M. Collins
Director, Education & Outreach
kdivitto@vt.edu

Kristi DeCourcy
Director, Biotech-in-a-Box
Senior Research Associate
decourcy@vt.edu

