Richard J. Whitley

Dr. Whitley is the Distinguished Professor, Loeb Scholar Chair in Pediatrics, and Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology, Medicine, and Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the Co-Director, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Vice-Chair, Department of Pediatrics; Senior Scientist, Department of Gene Therapy; Director for Drug Discovery and Development; Senior Leader, Comprehensive Cancer Center; Associate Director for Clinical Studies, Center for AIDS Research; and Co-Founder and Co-Director, Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance. Dr. Whitley is responsible for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Collaborative Antiviral Study Group and directs a center for drug discovery in the arena of emerging infections. He is a past President of the International Society of Antiviral Research and the Infectious Diseases Society of America and currently chairs both the NIAID Recombinant DNA Advisory Council and the NIAID HIV Vaccine Data Safety and Management Board. Dr. Whitley has been a director of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) since 2008 and served on Gilead’s Scientific Advisory Board from 2003 to 2008. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and an Honorary Member of the Irish Academy of Science. Dr. Whitely is qualified to serve on the board of directors due to his significant knowledge and experience in the pharmaceutical industry and serving on boards of directors of public companies.