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Faculty Detail    
Name MICHAEL S SAAG
 
Campus Address BBRB 256 Zip 2170
Phone  (205) 934-7349
E-mail  msaag@uab.edu
Other websites
     


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Med - Infectious Diseases  Med - Infectious Diseases Professor
Center  Center for Women's Reproductive Health  Center for Women's Reproductive Health Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Hughes Med-Grad Fellowship Program 



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Description
Dr. Michael Saag, Professor of Medicine and Director of the UAB HIV Clinic, is an internationally recognized leader in studies of HIV pathogenesis and clinical therapeutics, including development of antiretroviral therapy as well as novel treatments for opportunistic infections. Dr. Saag has established his career path along three general tracks: i) traditional clinical trials; ii) support of basic science research through targeted clinical trials that address pathogenesis questions; and iii) the evaluation of long-term clinical outcomes through the use of a computerized patient database. The UAB HIV clinic was the first study site to evaluate indinavir (Crixivan); the first to evaluate recombinant soluble CD4/IgG as a means of inhibiting viral fusion and entry; one of the first sites to use ritonavir in clinical practice; the first site to utilize BRL 61063, a potent inhibitor of TNF activity; the lead site in demonstrating the use of fluconazole as a treatment for acute cryptococcal meningitis; a lead site in the establishment of the optimal dose of nelfinavir (Viracept); the first site to evaluate BCX-34, an inhibitor of T-cell maturation; the first site to use abacavir (Ziagen) in clinical trials; and one of the first to demonstrate the use of prednisone as potential adjunctive immunotherapy of HIV-infected patients. Dr. Saag is the PI on two major NIH awards, the NIAID AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and the UAB AIDS Center Program Project Award, for which he is the Director, Clinical Core. Each of these awards has been competitively renewed twice under Dr. Saag’s leadership. In addition, Dr. Saag has an outstanding track record in mentoring young investigators, the majority of whom are in academic positions today.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
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 373:117-122,1995.   
Saag MS, Holodniy M, Kuritzkes DR, O’Brien WA, Coombs R, Poscher ME, Jacobsen DM, Shaw G, Richman DD, Volberding PA, for the Inernational AIDS-Society-USA. HIV viral load markers in clinical practice. Nature Med 2:625-629,1996.   
Wheat J, MaWhinney S, Hafner R, McKinsey D, Chen D, Korzun A, Skahan KJ, Johnson P, Hamill R, Bamberger D, Pappas P, Stansell J, Koletar S, Squires K, Larsen RA, Cheung T, Hyslop N, Lai KK, Schneider D, Kauffman C, Saag M, Dismukes W, Powderly W for the NIAID Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Clinical Trials Group and Mycoses Study Group. Treatment of histoplasmosis with fluconazole in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Am J Med 103;223-232,1997.   
Carpenter CJ, Fischl MA, Hammer SM, Hirsch MS, Jacobsen DM, Katzenstein DA, Montaner JSG, Richman DD, Saag MS, Schooley RT, Thompson MA, Vella S, Yeni PG, Volberding PA. Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in 1998: Updated recommendations of the International AIDS Society-USA Panel. JAMA 280:78-86,1998.   
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. Nature Medicine 4:1302-1307,1998.   
Saag MS, Kilby JM. HIV-1 and HAART: A time to cure, a time to kill. Nature Med 5:609-611, 1999.   
Saag MS. A review of the FIAU tragedy and its effect on clinical research. J Clin Res Practice 1:21 32,Spring 1999.   
Saag MS, Fessel WJ, Kaufman CA, Merrill KW, Ward DJ, Moskovitz BL, Thomas C, Oleka N, Guarnieri JA, Lee J, Brenner-Gati L, Klausner M . Treatment of fluconazole-refractory oropharyngeal candidiasis with itraconazole oral solution in HIV-positive patients (MSG #30). AIDS Res & Human Retrovir 15(16):1413-1417,1999.   
Kilby JM, Goepfert PA, Miller AP, Gnann JW, Sillers M, Saag MS, bucy RP. Recurrence of the acute HIV syndrome after interruption of antiretroviral therapy in a patient with chronic HIV infection: A case report. Ann Intern Med 133:435-438,2000.   
Call SA, Saag MS, Westfall AO, Raper JL, Pham SV, Tolson JM, Hellmann NS, Cloud GA, Johnson VA. Phenotypic drug susceptibility testing predicts long-term virologic suppression better than treatment history in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. JID 183:401-408,2001.