M. Joanne Lemieux, BSc, MSc, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

protein structure protease enzymology protein crystallography cryoEM membrane proteins

---

About

Joanne completed a B.Sc. in Biochemistry with Dr. Catherine Mezei at Dalhousie University (1986-1991) where she worked on membrane proteins in the myelinating peripheral nerve. This was followed by an M.Sc. with Dr Carl Breckenridge in Biochemistry/Neuroscience at Dalhousie (1992-1994) where she studied lipoproteins and lipid biosynthesis in the myelinating nerve. After working as a technician with Dr. Da Neng Wang at New York University School of Medicine, she completed a Ph.D. in the Cell Biology/Structural Biology, Biomedical Sciences program. During this time, she solved one of the first X-ray crystal structures of a gradient driven transporter, GlpT (Science, 2003). Joanne completed a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Michael James at the University of Alberta where she solved the structure of the rhomboid peptidase hiGlpG (PNAS, 2007). In December 2007, Joanne started her own research group. From 2018 to 2023 she was  Director of the Membrane Protein Disease Research Group. In 2022 She became Dirictor of the PRAIRE Hub for Pandemic Preparedness. Presently she is a Professor in the Department of biochemistry and Vice Dean Research (Biomedical) for the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

---

Research

Dr. Lemieux is internationally recognized as a leader in structural biology and drug-design. Dr. Lemieux leads a multidisciplinary research program focused on enzyme structure and function, with a particular interest in structure-guided drug design of proteases and enzymes essential for disease states.  Her team is currently developing next-generation formulations of SARS-CoV-2 direct-acting antivirals and investigating zoonotic viruses families and pandemic preparedness. She also runs a parallel project on developing small molecule antimicrobials, with a focus on developing therapeutics to treat infections which have been prioritized due to due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Her lab also has a strong interest in Molecular Neuroscience and in understanding protein that affect neurodegeneration. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has mentored more than 70 trainees, including undergraduate, MSc, PhD, and postdoctoral fellows. She previously held CIHR New Investigator, AMFMR Scholar and a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair. She was the recipient of the Faculty of Medicine Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2022 and was recently  with the Women in Science Excellence Award from the International Society for Antiviral Research in 2023.

---

Teaching

Biochemistry 420/520: Protein structure and function

Biochemistry 626: Protein structure and enzymology seminar series

Biochemistry 641: Selected Topics on the Structure and Function of Biological Membranes

Biochemistry 660: Professional Development Career Skills for Graduate studies

We are accepting PhD trainees for 2026 who interested in structural biology, in particular single particle cryoEM of membrane protein targets (channels, GPCR, membrane proteases).

BIOCH 420 - Proteins: Structure, Function, and Regulation

Principles of protein structure, function, and dynamics, with an introduction to force fields used in modern molecular dynamics. Focus topics include an introduction to intrinsically disordered proteins and their role in misfolding diseases, the structural biology, ligand binding, and mechanisms of membrane bound enzymes, and mechanisms underlying the regulation of protein function and enzymes involved in cell signaling. Prerequisites: BIOCH 320, with a minimum grade of B- or consent of Department. This course is intended for students in Honors or Specialization in Biochemistry. Students in other programs may be admitted subject to availability and with the consent of the Department. Graduate students may not register for credit (see BIOCH 520).

---

BIOCH 520 - Protein Chemistry, Structure, and Function

Principles of protein structure, function, and dynamics, with an introduction to force fields used in modern molecular dynamics. Focus topics include an introduction to intrinsically disordered proteins and their role in misfolding diseases, the structural biology, ligand binding, and mechanisms of membrane bound enzymes, and mechanisms underlying the regulation of protein function and enzymes involved in cell signaling. Prerequisites: BIOCH 320, with a minimum grade of B- or consent of Department. Lectures are the same as for BIOCH 420, but with additional assignments and evaluation appropriate to graduate studies. Students in other programs may be admitted subject to availability and with the consent of the Department This course may not be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained in BIOCH 420.

---

BIOCH 640A - Special Topics in Research on Biomembranes

Seminar course for advanced students covering selected topics from the current literature in the field of membrane structure and function. Prerequisite: BIOCH 441 or consent of Department.

---

BIOCH 640B - Special Topics in Research on Biomembranes

Seminar course for advanced students covering selected topics from the current literature in the field of membrane structure and function. Prerequisite: BIOCH 441 or consent of Department.

---

BIOCH 641 - Selected Topics on the Structure and Function of Biological Membranes

Directed reading and seminar course on the structure and function of biological membranes. Topics include membrane biogenesis, bioenergetics, transport and structural aspects of membrane lipids and proteins. Prerequisite: BIOCH 441 or consent of the Department.

---

Browse more courses taught by M. Joanne Lemieux

Raelynn Brassard, Elena Arutyunova, Emmanuella Takyi, L Michel Espinoza-Fonseca, Howard S Young, Nicolas Touret, M Joanne Lemieux

Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2025 March; 301 (3)

---

Lu J., Chen S.A., Khan M.B., Brassard R., Arutyunova E., Lamer T., Vuong W., Fischer C., Young H.S., Vederas J.C., Lemieux M.J.

Frontiers in Chemistry. 2022 February; 10 10.3389/fchem.2022.852210

---

Vuong W., Fischer C., Khan M.B., van Belkum M.J., Lamer T., Willoughby K.D., Lu J., Arutyunova E., Joyce M.A., Saffran H.A., Shields J.A., Young H.S., Nieman J.A., Tyrrell D.L., Lemieux M.J., Vederas J.C.

European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2021 October; 222 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113584

---

Bai B., Arutyunova E., Khan M.B., Lu J., Joyce M.A., Saffran H.A., Shields J.A., Kandadai A.S., Belovodskiy A., Hena M., Vuong W., Lamer T., Young H.S., Vederas J.C., Tyrrell D.L., Lemieux M.J., Nieman J.A.

RSC Medicinal Chemistry. 2021 August; 12 (10):1722-1730 10.1039/d1md00247c

---

Law J.L.M., Logan M., Joyce M.A., Landi A., Hockman D., Crawford K., Johnson J., LaChance G., Saffran H.A., Shields J., Hobart E., Brassard R., Arutyunova E., Pabbaraju K., Croxen M., Tipples G., Lemieux M.J., Tyrrell D.L., Houghton M.

VACCINE. 2021 August; 39 (40):5769-5779 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.081

---

Bai B., Belovodskiy A., Hena M., Kandadai A.S., Joyce M.A., Saffran H.A., Shields J.A., Khan M.B., Arutyunova E., Lu J., Bajwa S.K., Hockman D., Fischer C., Lamer T., Vuong W., Van Belkum M.J., Gu Z., Lin F., Du Y., Xu J., Rahim M., Young H.S., Vederas J.C., Tyrrell D.L., Lemieux M.J., Nieman J.A.

JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY. 2021 July; 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00616

---

Arutyunova E., Khan M.B., Fischer C., Lu J., Lamer T., Vuong W., van Belkum M.J., McKay R.T., Tyrrell D.L., Vederas J.C., Young H.S., Lemieux M.J.

JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. 2021 June; 433 (13) 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167003

---

Vuong W., Fischer C., Khan M.B., van Belkum M.J., Lamer T., Willoughby K.D., Lu J., Arutyunova E., Joyce M.A., Saffran H.A., Shields J.A., Young H.S., Nieman J.A., Tyrrell D.L., Lemieux M.J., Vederas J.C.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY. 2021 May; 222 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113584

---

Arutyunova E., Lysyk L., Morrison M., Brooks C., Joanne Lemieux M.

Methods in Molecular Biology. 2021 April; 2302 10.1007/978-1-0716-1394-8_1

---

Lysyk L., Brassard R., Arutyunova E., Siebert V., Jiang Z., Takyi E., Morrison M., Young H.S., Lemberg M.K., ODonoghue A.J., Joanne Lemieux M.

JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 2021 January; 296 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100383

---

Vuong W., Khan M.B., Fischer C., Arutyunova E., Lamer T., Shields J., Saffran H.A., McKay R.T., van Belkum M.J., Joyce M.A., Young H.S., Tyrrell D.L., Vederas J.C., Lemieux M.J.

Nature Communications. 2020 December; 11 (1) 10.1038/s41467-020-18096-2

---

View additional publications