December 10, 2010
Michael Saag. Download image.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In recognition of his role as a leader and pioneer in AIDS research, the University of Alabama at Birmingham will honor Professor of Medicine Michael S. Saag, M.D., with the 2010 President's Medal. UAB President Carol Z. Garrison will confer the medal at UAB's fall commencement ceremonies, 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, in Bartow Arena.
The UAB President's Medal recognizes individuals who have attained scholarly distinction and/or have rendered distinguished service to UAB. Recipients are selected by the president upon recommendation of senior university officials, and this medal is one of the highest honors bestowed by UAB.
Dr. Saag holds the Jim Straley Endowed Chair in AIDS Research and directs the William C. Gorgas Center for Geographic Medicine and the Center for AIDS Research. He has dedicated his career to the study and treatment of the HIV/AIDS infection, which, in turn, has brought UAB national recognition. His efforts help maintain UAB as a national and community leader in education, research and health care. His contributions to medicine and the UAB community have immeasurably added to the quality of life around the globe.
Saag graduated with honors in 1977 from Tulane University and earned his medical degree with honors from the University of Louisville. He completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in infectious diseases and molecular virology at UAB, where he made seminal discoveries in the genetic evolution of HIV in vivo. Saag directed the first in-patient studies of eight of the 26 antiretroviral drugs currently on the market. He developed the concept of a comprehensive HIV outpatient clinic, the 1917 Clinic.
Saag is immediate past chair of the board of directors for the HIV Medical Association and a member of the HHS Guidelines Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy. He serves on the International AIDS Society-USA Board of Directors. He was elected into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 1997. He has published more than 280 articles in peer-reviewed journals and contributed more than 50 chapters to medical textbooks. Saag was listed as one of the top 10 most-cited HIV researchers by Science (1996) and has been listed as one of the Best Doctors in America since 1994. He has been honored with numerous awards for medical research, community service and excellence in teaching.
About UAB
Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is the state of Alabama's largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center; its professional schools and specialty patient-care programs are consistently ranked among the nation's top 50. Find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabmedicine.org.