Michael Saag, MD

HIV Medicine

Highlights

Age Groups Seen

Adults

Languages

English

About Michael Saag

Biography

Dr. Saag received a B.S. in chemistry with honors from Tulane University, earned his medical degree with honors from the University of Louisville, and completed his residency and infectious disease and molecular virology fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Saag has participated in many studies of antiretroviral therapy as well as novel treatments for opportunistic infections. He has published over 450 articles in peer reviewed journals, including the first description of the use of viral load in clinical practice, the first description of the rapid dynamics of viral replication, the first guidelines for use of viral load in practice, and directed the ‘first-in- patient’ studies of 7 of the 30 antiretroviral drugs currently on the market. Dr. Saag Co-Edited a textbook entitled AIDS Therapy (now in its 3rd edition) and currently serves as an Editor of the Sanford Guide for Antimicrobial Agents (and the Sanford HIV Guide) and is a Co-Editor of the journal AIDS. Dr. Saag is Chair of the IAS-USA Antiretroviral Therapy Guidelines panel and was a founding Co-Chair of the AASLD / IDSA Hepatitis C Guidelines Panel. He was the 2014 Castle-Connolly National Physician of the Year and was inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame. Dr. Saag published a memoir entitled “Positive: One doctor’s encounters with death, life, and the US Healthcare system,” now in its second printing.

Title

Associate Dean for Global Health

Specialty Services

LGBT Health

Faculty Appointment

Professor

Research Interests

HIV / AIDS
Hepatitis B and C virus infections

Awards & Recognition

1976: Omicron Delta Kappa, Zeta Beta Tau, President
1978: Student Research Day First Place, Medical School Division
1978 - 1981: Medical School Admissions Committee
1980: Alpha Omega Alpha
1981: Presley Martin Memorial Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine
1984: Aesculapian Award for Excellence in the Clinical Practice of Medicine (given to best internal medicine resident at Cooper Green Hospital)
1986 - 1987: The Walter B. Frommeyer Fellowship Award in Investigative Medicine
1991: Honorary Citizen of Louisville, Louisville, KY
1992: Outstanding Medical Research Achievement Award, AIDS Task Force of Alabama
1993: Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
1993 - Present: Board of Directors, International AIDS Society - USA
1994: International Health and Medical Film Festival Freddie Award Winner for "Be Careful Out There”, a film for resident physicians regarding universal precautions
1994 - Present: Listed in The Best Doctors in America, Woodward/White publishers
1996 - Present: Tinsley Harrison Teaching Scholar
1996: Listed as one of the Best Doctors in America by American Health, a member of the Reader’s Digest Special Interest Publications
1996: Myrtle Wreath Award, Hadassah (awarded for significant contributions to Medical Care)
1996: Chair, IAS-USA Guidelines Panel on the Use of Viral Load in Clinical Practice
1996 - 2006: IAS-USA Antiretroviral Therapy Guidelines Panel
1997: American Society for Clinical Investigation
2001: Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine (awarded in recognition of outstanding community involvement and social action).
2001 - Present: Listed in America’s Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical, LTD publishers
2002: Birmingham Business Journal’s first Who’s Who in Health Care
2002; 2003: The Max Cooper Award for Research Excellence; UAB Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
2002 - 2004: Subspecialty Board on Infectious Diseases, American Board of Internal Medicine
2004 - 2008: Chair, Subspecialty Board on Infectious Diseases, American Board of Internal Medicine
2004 - 2008: Member, Board of Directors, American Board of Internal Medicine
2004: Honoree, Birmingham Chapter of the National Conference on Community and Justice (NCCJ), Birmingham, Alabama
2004 - Present: Member, Rotary Club of Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
2005: Live the Dream Award, Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham, Alabama
2005 - Present: Listed as one of the Best Doctors in Birmingham in Birmingham Magazine, Birmingham, Alabama
2006: Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Jonathan Lax Memorial Lecturer, Philadelphia, PA
2006: Royal College of Medicine, Lecture, London, England
2007: Hettie Butler Terry Community Service Award, UAB Medical Alumni Association
2007: Charles C. Shepard Science Award ceremony honored guest for recognition as a co-author on the manuscript Rapid Scale-up of ART at Primary Care Sites in Zambia, nominated in the “prevention and control” category
2007: UAB Center for AIDS Research, Gold winner in the Non-Profit category of the 2007 Excellence in Information Integrity Award; presented by the Information Integrity Coalition
2008: Clinical Infectious Diseases Award for Outstanding Review of the article entitled “An Unusual Abacavir Reaction in a HLAB*5701 Negative Individual”
2008: Best Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer; and Best Fundamentals II Lecturer; UAB School of Medicine 13th Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association
2009: Best Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer; and Nominated, Best Fundamentals II Lecturer; UAB School of Medicine 14th Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association
2010: Best Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer, UAB School of Medicine 15th Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association
2010: Association of American Physicians
2010: The UAB President’s Medal of Honor
2013: 34th Annual Reynolds Historical Lecturer, UAB
2014: Castle Connolly Medical Ltd National Physican of the Year Award for Clinical Excellence
2014: Alabama Health Care Hall of Fame, Inductee
2015: Best Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer, and Nominated, Best Fundamentals II Educator; UAB School of Medicine 20th Annual Arugus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medial Alumni Association
2015: Teaching Excellence Award, UAB Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program
2016: Cotlove Award, presented by the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists
2016: William Kirby Speaker, University of Washington, Seattle
2016: Best Educator, Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer, UAB School of Medicine Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association
2017: Best Educator, Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer, UAB School of Medicine Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association
2018: Best Educator, Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer, UAB School of Medicine Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association
2019: Best Educator, Patient, Doctor, and Society Lecturer, UAB School of Medicine Annual Argus Society Awards, presented by the UAB Medical Alumni Association