UMSOM Institute of Human Virology’s Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD Receives Top Award from National Physician’s Group

Dr. Kottilil Awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians (MACP) for Groundbreaking Clinical Research and Exceptional Mentorship

Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Director of UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV) Division of Clinical Care and Research, has been awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists.  Dr. Kottilil is also Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UMSOM Department of Medicine and is a scientific advisory member of the Global Virus Network (GVN).

Dr. Kottilil, who received the 2019 ACP’s Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Award, will be honored at the Convocation for new Masters to be held next year.

Dr. Kottilil is a renowned clinical researcher in HIV and viral hepatitis and has expanded his research to other viruses including SARS-CoV-2.  He is a pioneer in recognizing the impact of viral hepatitis on HIV patients. Dr. Kottilil was a leader in developing the currently used hepatitis C regimens for dose, duration, and management therapies. Importantly, he demonstrated that these trials could be done in African American patients from disadvantaged parts of the city. He then noted the impact which opioid use disorder had on his patients, and initiated implementation research and novel therapeutic approaches to treating opioid use disorder.  Dr. Kottilil is also known as an extraordinary mentor to his colleagues and postdoctoral fellows.

“Dr. Kottilil is a visionary clinical researcher,” said Robert C. Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Co-Founder & Director of the UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV).  “Not only is Dr. Kottilil a superb physician and researcher, he is lauded by his mentees for his leadership and teaching abilities.  We are proud of Dr. Kottilil and pleased to see ACP’s recognition of his work.” Dr. Gallo is also Co-Founder and Chairman of the International Scientific Leadership Board of the GVN.

Election to Mastership recognizes outstanding and extraordinary career accomplishments. Masters must have made a notable contribution to medicine. This includes, but is not limited to teaching, outstanding work in clinical medicine (research or practice), contributions to preventive medicine, improvements in the delivery of health care, and/or contributions to the medical literature.

“Dr. Kottilil is a superb physician, scientist and educator who has attained a global reputation in viral hepatitis and infectious diseases.  He has notably mentored over 80 students, residents, and fellows.  We are proud and fortunate to have him on our team. Mastership in the American College of Physicians is a distinction he most richly deserves,” said Stephen Davis, MBBS, FRCP, MACP, the Theodore E. Woodward Endowed Chair and the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM); Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and Vice-President of Clinical Translational Science for the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus.

ACP Masters are elected “on account of personal character, positions of honor, contributions toward furthering the purposes of the ACP, eminence in practice or in medical research, or other attainments in science or in the art of medicine.” ACP activities are also taken into consideration for all candidates. This includes service to the ACP in an official capacity, participation in chapter activities, and involvement in the development of ACP products and educational programs. Volunteer and community service is also taken into consideration.

ACP is a national organization of internists, the largest medical-specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. It consists of 148,000 members, who include internists, internal medicine subspecialists, medical students, residents, and fellows.

“Dr. Kottilil is most deserving of this national recognition,” said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean at the UM SOM.  “UMSOM is proud of Dr. Kottilil’s research that has moved the field at all levels, including here in Baltimore City, across the nation and around the world.”

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

Now in its third century, 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 45 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 two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research.  With an operating budget of more than $1.2 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 nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $563 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 population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

About the American College of Physicians

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 163,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.