Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Dr. Justin Weppner received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, followed by his medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internship in General Surgery at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Virginia, and his fellowship in Brain Injury Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Weppner has also served as a General Medical Officer in the Navy, where he coordinated the medical care for an infantry battalion during two combat tours in Afghanistan. For his bravery and leadership, he was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" for valor, the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat "V" for valor, and the Combat Action Ribbon.
In 2019, Dr. Weppner joined the faculty of VTCSOM and Carilion Clinic, where he currently serves as the Section Chief of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. In January 2022, he was appointed as the Medical Director of the Carilion Clinic Brain Injury Center, which he has led to provide integrated multidisciplinary services to create personalized treatment plans for individuals with acquired brain injuries.
Dr. Weppner is dedicated to medical education, and he is also a Fellow in the Master of Education in the Health Professions program at Johns Hopkins University and has received the 2022 Best Paper Award for his medical education research presented at the Association for Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting.
His clinical interests include caring for patients with traumatic brain injuries, concussions, anoxic brain injuries, stroke, and spasticity. He is also interested in researching blast-related TBI, disordered sleep in TBI, and the impact of depression, age, and gender on functional recovery after brain injury.