November 19, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Director of Pediatric Infectious Disease Richard Whitley, M.D., has been tapped to serve on the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The council advises NIAID's director on research initiatives and programs in the areas of allergy and infectious diseases including AIDS, biomedical research and tropical infectious diseases. Whitley's term on the council ends in 2012.

"Training, research and expert care is crucial to fixing the many infectious disease problems we face today," Whitley said. "The council's input is one of the early steps in working toward solutions, and its collaborative nature guarantees the federal research agenda is well-informed."

Whitley is a UAB professor of pediatrics, microbiology, medicine and neurosurgery and serves as vice-chair of the Department of Pediatrics. He also co-directs UAB's Center for Emerging Infections and Emergency Preparedness and is a renowned researcher on the antiviral therapies designed to fight infections in children and adults.

Whitley is president elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and an active member of the American Association of Physicians, the Society of Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society and other organizations.

The Advisory Council for NIAID meets three times a year in Bethesda, Md. The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and one of the National Institutes of Health.