William G. Powderly is Named IDSA President

Pledging to continue the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)'s commitment to improving the health of all people, communities and society, William G. Powderly, MD, FIDSA, assumes the reins as the new president of IDSA. He will be joined by dedicated, experienced board members as well as new additions who bring expertise in areas ranging from diagnostics and HIV to compensation, pediatrics and guidelines development.

“We are reaching out to the new presidential administration and Congress to help shape their understanding of critical health care challenges and opportunities, including efforts to improve patient safety, lead cutting-edge biomedical research, strengthen public health infrastructure, advocate for patients with HIV and other infectious diseases, and guide the development of critically needed new antibiotics and diagnostics,” said Powderly. “I look forward to working closely with my colleagues on the Board who embody strong representation from women and men whose experience and perspectives reflect the diversity of our field.”

Joining Powderly on the IDSA Executive Committee are new and returning members: President-elect Paul Auwaerter, MD, MBA, FIDSA, vice president Cynthia Sears, MD, FIDSA, secretary Larry Pickering, MD, FIDSA, treasurer Helen Boucher, MD, FIDSA and past president Johan Bakken, MD, PhD, FIDSA.

Powderly said he is energized to work with the board to promote IDSA’s strategic priorities, which include:
 Promoting the value of the infectious diseases (ID) physician
 Attracting the best and brightest to the field of infectious diseases
 Promoting leadership in antibiotic resistance and stewardship
 Producing useful, timely and relevant guidelines
 Promoting ID and HIV research and its clinical translation
 Advocating for funding of prevention and public health programs in ID and HIV

William Powderly, MD, FIDSA: HIV Expertise and a Global Perspective

Currently co-director of the Washington University School of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases, St. Louis, Dr. Powderly has a special interest in HIV care and brings a global perspective to IDSA, having attended medical school and residency training in Dublin and having spent 8 years as Dean of the Medical School at University College Dublin in Ireland. He also is director of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University and is an attending physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Dr. Powderly was the inaugural chair of the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and was a founding member of the St. Louis Infectious Diseases Society. He is interested in: advancing care in HIV, focusing on long-term complications and antiretroviral therapy; fungal infections, especially cryptococcosis; and the translation of clinical advances to public health and public policy.

New IDSA board members
Powderly says he is pleased to be working with those joining the IDSA board, including:

Angela Caliendo, MD, PhD, FIDSA – Chair of the Microbiology Medical Devices Panel for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Caliendo is professor and executive vice chair of medicine and director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, R.I. She was the co-chair of the Clinical Laboratory & Standards Institute (CLSI) Subcommittee on Quantitative Molecular Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases, a member of the CLSI Subcommittee on Genotyping for Infectious Diseases and an advisor on the Subcommittee on Antiviral Susceptibility Testing. Dr. Caliendo is past president of both the Association of Molecular Pathology and Pan-American Society for Clinical Virology.

Joel Gallant, MD, MPH, FIDSA – A respected expert on HIV and AIDS, Dr. Gallant has published extensively on the topic, including authoring a book for consumers, "100 Questions and Answers About HIV and AIDS." Currently he is medical director of specialty services at Southwest CARE Center in Santa Fe, and adjunct professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. Dr. Gallant also is professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico, Division of Infectious Diseases, Albuquerque.

Dan McQuillen, MD, FIDSA – Dr. McQuillen is passionate about documenting the value of infectious disease specialists at the national level. He is director of the Solid Organ Transplant Infectious Disease service and senior staff physician in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, Mass. He is a former chair of IDSA’s Clinical Affairs Committee and current president of the Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society. His interests include tick-associated infections, management of Clostridium difficile infection and HIV.

Larry Pickering, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS – Long dedicated to improving health in children including by promoting the benefits of vaccination, Pickering is adjunct professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta. He is the past senior advisor to the director of the National Immunization Program/National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. Rejoining the IDSA Board after having previously served on it, Pickering also led or co-chaired panels that developed clinical practice guidelines for immunization programs and the management of infectious diarrhea. He is a past president of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. 

Cindy Sears, MD, FIDSA – Sears is rejoining the Board, having previously served as treasurer. Professor of medicine and molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Sears also is an attending physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is dedicated to ensuring the publication of high-quality guidelines, and previously served as vice chair of the IDSA Education and Research Foundation. Dr. Sears is interested in research on the relationship of bacteria and the microbiome to colon cancer development.

They will join members continuing their service on the Board, including:

 Paul Auwaerter, MD, MBA, FIDSA, president-elect, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore
 Johan Bakken MD, PhD, FIDSA, past president, St. Luke’s ID Associates, Duluth, Minn.
 Helen Boucher, MD, FIDSA, treasurer, Tufts Medical Center, Boston
 Henry “Chip” Chambers, MD, FIDSA, University of California, San Francisco
 Janet Englund, MD, FIDSA, Seattle Children’s Hospital
 Thomas Fekete, MD, FIDSA, Temple University Medical School, Philadelphia
 Lawrence Martinelli, MD, FIDSA, Covenant Health, Lubbock, Texas
 Thomas Moore, MD, FIDSA, IDC of Kansas, Wichita, Kan.
 Trish Perl, MD, MSc, FIDSA, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
 David Kimberlin, MD, FIDSA, University of Alabama at Birmingham
 Keith Kaye, MD, MPH, FIDSA, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Source: Infectious Diseases Society of America