UM School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology Makes Key Appointments to Clinical Care and Research Leadership Positions

Institute Names Dr. Shyam Kottilil and Dr. Anthony Amoroso to Replace Dr. Robert Redfield, Now Director at CDC

Baltimore, Md., May 3, 2018 – Robert C. Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine and co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), along with Stephen Davis, MBBS, the Dr. Theodore E. Woodward Chair and Professor in the Department of Medicine, and E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, today announced that Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, professor of medicine at UMSOM and head of IHV’s Clinical Research Unit, will become director of IHV’s Division of Clinical Care and Research, as well as chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UMSOM Department of Medicine.

These positions were formerly held by Robert R. Redfield, MD, who last month was named the new director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Dr. Kottilil has been a terrific leader at the Institute, and has greatly strengthened our clinical research capacity since his arrival in 2014,” said Dr. Gallo, who is also co-founder and scientific director of the Global Virus Network (GVN) “I have no doubt that he will build upon the foundation laid by Dr. Redfield and continue to advance IHV’s clinical research portfolio to extend beyond HIV and hepatitis B and C."

Dr. Kottilil has worked for over a decade on viruses that cause chronic infection. From 2000 until 2014, he worked at the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID), focusing on hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV. His current work has targeted the pathogenesis of HBV and HCV infections, as well as developing novel treatments for these diseases.

In 2009, he became scientific director of the NIH-District of Columbia Program for AIDS Progress, a program targeting HIV, HCV and HBV treatment and prevention in Washington D.C. He will continue in this capacity after assuming his new role. While at NIAID, Dr. Kottilil established himself as an international leader in the development of new therapeutic strategies to treat and manage chronic viral diseases. He conducted several pivotal studies in HCV that led to simplifying HCV treatment.

In addition, he served as one of the members of the US National Hepatitis C Treatment Guidance Panel, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Society of Clinical Investigation. He has received numerous awards, including the NIAID Meritorious service award for Innovations in Science, in 2014, and NIH Outstanding Mentor award, in 2013.

“We are thrilled to appoint Dr. Shyam Kottilil to this important and significant position as head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Maryland School of Medicine,” said Dr. Davis. “Dr. Kottilil is an exceptional clinical and translational researcher with a national and international reputation.  He is also a superb and skillful leader whom will build upon the wonderful legacy left by Dr. Robert Redfield and enable the Division of Infectious Diseases to continue on its outstanding upward trajectory.”

In addition, Anthony Amoroso, MD, who is currently associate professor of medicine and associate director of IHV’s Division of Clinical Care and Research, has been appointed as head of Clinical Care Programs at IHV.  Dr. Amoroso is also newly appointed as associate chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Amoroso will head the clinical care practices at both IHV and the Department of Medicine.

“Dr. Amoroso will be an excellent leader for our physicians and staff,” said Dr. Gallo. “At the Institute, he will apply his decades-long experience to continue providing compassionate, cutting-edge care to more than 5,000 Baltimoreans.”

Dr. Amoroso has been on the faculty of both IHV and the UMSOM Division of Infection Disease since 2000. He has been the chief of the Infectious Disease Section for the VA Maryland Health System since 2007, and achieved an outstanding record in HIV and HCV patient care and education. Working closely with Dr. Redfield over the past 20 years, he has played a critical role in developing the foundation and providing medical leadership for many of the Institute’s key clinical programs, including its highly successful President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programs, the JACQUES Initiative, the Saint Gabriel's Project, and the initial HIV clinic at the Midtown Campus, now the University of Maryland Center for Infectious Disease.

In addition, he has maintained a leadership role in the growth of the Infectious Disease clinical programs at UMMC, serving as chief of Transplant Infectious Disease Service and then associate chief of Infectious Disease. His research interests include improving HIV treatment outcomes in difficult-to-treat populations, as well as the treatment of HIV and other viral infections in solid organ transplantation.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Amoroso as associate chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and congratulate him on his appointment as head of clinical care programs in the Institute of Human Virology,” said Dr. Davis. “Anthony is an extraordinarily accomplished clinician, teacher and clinical researcher whom has a renowned national and international reputation. Together with Dr. Kottilil, he will provide superb leadership that will continue Dr. Redfield’s outstanding work, in Baltimore and around the world. Together Drs. Kottilil and Amoroso are well-positioned to introduce novel breakthroughs in clinical care globally.”

“Dr. Redfield built a fantastic foundation here,” said Dean Reece. “Dr. Kottilil and Dr. Amoroso have the dedication, experience and vision to continue his impressive legacy for years to come. IHV and the School of Medicine are pleased to have them in their new positions.”

About the Institute of Human Virology

Formed in 1996 as a partnership between the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the University System of Maryland and the University of Maryland Medical System, IHV is an institute of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is home to some of the most globally-recognized and world-renowned experts in all of virology. The IHV combines the disciplines of basic research, epidemiology and clinical research in a concerted effort to speed the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics for a wide variety of chronic and deadly viral and immune disorders - most notably, HIV the virus that causes AIDS. For more information, www.ihv.org and follow us on Twitter @IHVmaryland.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Commemorating its 210th Anniversary, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine  and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research.  With an operating budget of more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically-based care for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School has over 2,500 students, residents, and fellows, and nearly $450 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total workforce of nearly 7,000 individuals. The combined School and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact in excess of $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th-highest public medical school in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu