Dr. Kylene Kehn-Hall is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and the Director of the Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Arthropod-borne Pathogens (CeZAP) at Virginia Tech. Dr. Kehn-Hall received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from The George Washington University. She established her independent virology research program in 2009 as an Assistant Professor at George Mason University, and became a tenured full Professor in 2020. Research in her lab is centered on encephalitic alphaviruses (e.g. Venezuelan and eastern equine encephalitis viruses) and Rift Valley fever virus. Specifically, her laboratory takes a multidisciplinary approach to 1) identifying critical host factors that are necessary for viral replication, 2) evaluating small molecule inhibitors for their therapeutic potential, and 3) characterizing viral pathogenesis. Dr. Kehn-Hall has authored over 125 peer-reviewed research articles and currently serves on the Editorial Board of PLoS ONE and the Journal of Virology. Her research is supported by grants from NIH, DTRA, and CDMRP.  Dr. Kehn-Hall has significant leadership and administrative experience, serving as the Graduate Program Director of the Biosciences PhD Program at George Mason University from 2014-2018, the Associate Director of the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University from 2019-2020, and most recently as the Director of CeZAP. Her lab is supporting COMPASS as part of the “Replicate team” performing studies on repurposing FDA approved drugs for emerging viral infections and antiviral testing in organoid models.