Michael S. Saag, MD

Editor

• Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2022-Present)
• Editor in Chief – AIDS (2021-Present)
• Host, "Going Antiviral" podcast (2023-Present)
• Co-Editor, AIDS Therapy (textbook), along with Raphael Dolin, MD & Henry Masur, MD, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Editions, 2000, 2003, and 2007

Professional Recognitions & Appointments

• Professor of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (1997-2022)
• Jim Straley Chair in AIDS Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
• Founded - UAB's 1917 Clinic, a comprehensive AIDS treatment and research center (1988; Director 1988-2000)
• Director, UAB Center for AIDS Research (2004-2022)
• Associate Dean for Global Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2015-2022)
• Member of the Antiretroviral Therapy Guidelines Panel and Metabolic Complications Guidelines Panel of the International Antiviral Society – USA (1996-Present; Chair, 2018, 2020)
• Founding Co-Chair, AASLD-IDSA Hepatitis C Guidelines (www.hcvguidelines.org)
• Elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians
• Past Chair, American Board of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Subspecialty Board
• Past Board Member, IDSA
• Past Chairman, HIV Medicine Association of the IDSA
• Member, President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (2017-2022)
• Inductee, Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame (2014)
• Listed as one of the top ten cited HIV researchers by Science (1996)
• President's Award, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2011)
• Castle-Connolly National Physician of the Year Award for Clinical Excellence (2014)
• Governor's Task Force on AIDS in Alabama
• Best Doctors in America list, American Health (1996-Present)
• Medical Researcher of the Year, AIDS Task Force of Alabama (1996)
• Recipient of Hadassah Myrtle Wreath Award (1996)
• University of Louisville School of Medicine Alumnus of the Year (2018)

Publication Highlights

Over 600 articles in peer reviewed journals including:

• Saag MS, Hahn BH, Gibbons J, Li Y, Parks S, Parks WP, Shaw GM. Extensive variation of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 in vivo. Nature 334(6181):440-444, 1988.
• Clark SJ, Saag MS, Decker WD, Campbell-Hill S, Roberson JL, Veldkamp PJ, Kappes JC, Hahn BH, Shaw GM. High titers of cytopathic virus in plasma of patients with symptomatic primary HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med 324(14):954-960, 1991.
• Saag MS, Powderly WG, Cloud GA, Robinson P, Grieco MH, Sharkey PK, Thompson SE, Sugar AM, Tuazon CU, Fisher JF, Hyslop N, Jacobson JM, Hafner R, Dismukes WE, and the NIAID Mycoses Study Group, and the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Comparison of amphotericin B with fluconazole in the treatment of acute AIDS-associated cryptococcal meningitis. N Engl J Med 326(2):83-89, 1992.
• Piatak Jr M, Saag MS, Yang LC, Clark SJ, Kappes JC, Luk K-C, Hahn BH, Shaw GM, Lifson JD. High levels of HIV-1 in plasma during all stages of infection determined by competitive PCR. Science 259(5102):1749-1754, 1993.
• Saag MS, Emini EA, Laskin OL, Douglas J, Lapidus WI, Schleif WA, Whitley RJ, Hildebrand C, Byrnes VW, Kappes JC, Anderson KW, Massari FE, Shaw GM, and the L-697,661 Working Group. A short term clinical evaluation of L-697,661, a nonnucleoside inhibitor of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. N Engl J Med 329(15):1065-1072, 1993.
• Wei X, Ghosh SK, Taylor ME, Johnson VA, Emini E, Deutsch P, Lifson JD, Bonhoeffer S, Nowak MA, Hahn BH, Saag MS, Shaw GM. Viral dynamics in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection. Nature 373(6510):117-122, 1995.
• Markowitz M, Saag M, Powderly W, Hurley A, Hsu A, Valdes JM, Henry D, Sattler F, LaMarca A, Leonard JM, Ho DD. A preliminary study of ritonavir, an inhibitor of HIV-1 protease, to treat HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med 333(23):1534-1539, 1995.
• Saag MS, Holodniy M, Kuritzkes DR, O'Brien WA, Coombs R, Poscher ME, Jacobsen DM, Shaw G, Richman DD, Volberding PA, for the International AIDS Society-USA. HIV viral load markers in clinical practice. Nat Med 2(6):625-629, 1996.
• Kilby JM, Hopkins S, Venetta TM, DiMassimo B, Cloud GA, Lee JY, Carder L, Johnson R, Nowak MA, Shaw GM, Saag MS. Potent suppression of HIV-1 replication in humans by T-20, a peptide inhibitor of gp41-mediated virus entry. Nat Med 4(11):1302-1307, 1998.
• Saag MS, Kilby JM. HIV-1 and HAART: A time to cure, a time to kill. Nat Med 5(6):609-611, 1999.
• Chen RY, Accortt NA, Westfall AO, Mugavero MJ, Raper JL, Cloud GA, Stone BK, Carter J, Call S, Pisu M, Allison J, Saag MS. Distribution of health care expenditures for HIV-infected patients. Clin Infect Dis 42(7):1003-1010, 2006.
• Saag MS. Quantum leaps, microeconomics, and the treatment of patients with hepatitis C and HIV coinfection. JAMA 312(4):347-348, 2014.
• Saag MS, CA Benson, RT Gandhi, JF Hoy, RJ Landovitz, MJ Mugavero, PE Sax, DM Smith, MA Thompson, SP Buchbinder, C del Rio, JJ Eron, G Fatkenheuer, HF Gunthard, J-M Molina, DM Jacobsen, PA Volberding. Antiretroviral drugs for treatment and prevention of HIV infection in adults – 2018 recommendations of the international antiviral society-USA panel. JAMA 320(4):379-396, 2018.
• Saag MS, Gandhi RT, Hoy JF, Landovitz RJ, Thompson MA, Sax PE, Smith DM, Benson CA, Buchbinder SP, Del Rio C, Eron JJ Jr, Fatkenheuer G, Gunthard HF, Molina JM, Jacobsen DM, Volberding PA. Antiretroviral drugs for treatment and prevention of HIV infection in adults: 2020 recommendations of the international antiviral society-USA panel. JAMA 324(16):1651-1669, 2020.
• Saag MS. Developing COVID-19 vaccine policy in increments. Lancet 398(10309):1382-1383, 2021.
• Saag MS. HIV Infection – Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment. N Engl J Med 384(22):2131-2143, 2021.
• Saag M. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles: the unprecedented speed of COVID-19 science. Physiol Rev 102(3):1569-1577, 2022.
• Saag MS. Development of COVID-19 vaccines - an unanticipated moon shot achieved at warp speed. JAMA Netw Open 6(1):e2251983, 2023.
• Gandhi RT, Landovitz RJ, Sax PE, Smith DM, Springer SA, Günthard HF, Thompson MA, Bedimo RJ, Benson CA, Buchbinder SP, Crabtree-Ramirez BE, Del Rio C, Eaton EF, Eron JJ Jr, Hoy JF, Lehmann C, Molina JM, Jacobsen DM, Saag MS. Antiretroviral Drugs for Treatment and Prevention of HIV in Adults: 2024 Recommendations of the International Antiviral Society-USA Panel. JAMA 333(7):609-628, 2025.

Education

• Tulane University (BS)
• University of Louisville (Medical School)
• University of Alabama at Birmingham (Residency & Fellowship)