Dr. Melby joined UTMB in 2010 as Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the UTMB Center for Tropical Diseases. He is active in the clinical practice of infectious diseases, basic and clinical research, program leadership, and in teaching medical and graduate students, clinical residents, and fellows. He has an active research program related to the immunopathogenesis of parasitic diseases, with a particular focus on leishmaniasis. His laboratory has been involved in vaccine development, studies to determine immunopathological mechanisms of disease, diagnostics, and drug discovery. In recent years his lab has focused on investigating the immune deficits, impaired host defense, and pathophysiology of childhood malnutrition. His research involves study of animal models and patients in East Africa. Dr. Melby's interest in tropical diseases and the neglected diseases of resource-poor developing countries started forty years ago when he first worked overseas in a hospital laboratory in rural Egypt. He subsequently has worked in over 15 countries. He attended medical school at the University of Colorado and then went on to complete his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Missouri, a research fellowship in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and a clinical infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, where he was subsequently a faculty member for 20 years. At UTMB he leads the Center for Tropical Diseases, which includes more than 70 faculty members dedicated to the mission of impacting tropical diseases through research, education, and service. He started the Global Infectious Diseases Network, which includes UTMB and 8 institutions in Latin America. In 2016 he became Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UTMB. In leading the ID Division, he is passionate about its diversity, broad expertise, global impact, and culture of excellence and collegiality.
