University of Alabama at Birmingham
Division of ID/Department of Medicine
908 20th Street, South
Birmingham
ALUSA
35294
Biographical Sketch: Dr. Saag received a B.S. in chemistry with honors in 1977 Tulane University and earned his medical degree with honors from the University of Louisville. He completed his residency and infectious disease and molecular virology fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During his fellowship training, Dr. Saag made seminal discoveries in the genetic evolution of HIV in vivo. In the last 6 months of his fellowship, Dr. Saag conceived the concept of a comprehensive HIV outpatient (1917) clinic dedicated to the provision of comprehensive patient care in conjunction with the conduct of high quality clinic trials, basic science, and clinical outcomes research. He has published over 280 articles in peer reviewed journals, including the first description of the use of viral load in clinical practice (Science, 1993), the first description of the rapid dynamics of viral replication (Nature, 1995), the first guidelines for use of viral load in practice (Nature Medicine, 1996), the first proof of concept of fusion inhibition as a therapeutic option (Nature Medicine, 1998), and directed the ‘first-in- patient’ studies of 7 of the 25 antiretroviral drugs currently on the market. Dr. Saag currently serves as an Editor of the Sanford Guide for Antimicrobial Agents and the Sanford HIV Guide, serves on the International AIDS Society-USA Board of Directors, is immediate Past-President of the HIV Medical Association, and is a member of the HHS Guidelines Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy.