Alexey Onufriev

Dr. Alexey Onufriev is a Professor at Virginia Tech, affiliated with the Departments of Computer Science and Physics, and the Graduate Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology. His research focuses on computational biophysics, molecular modeling, and implicit solvation methods. He develops theoretical approaches and algorithms to study biomolecular systems, including DNA structure, 3D genome organization, and drug design. His lab employs both physics-based models and machine learning to address challenges in biomolecular simulations.

Key research areas include: biomolecular electrostatics, chromatin architecture, generalized Born models, and the role of water and ions in biological processes. His group has contributed tools like the H++ server for pK predictions and the GEM software for electrostatic potential visualization.

Notable collaborations include work on nuclear envelope interactions in Drosophila, ion effects on nucleic acids, and applications of implicit solvent models. Dr. Onufriev has advised over 30 graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom now hold academic or industry positions.