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Joseph Kovacs, MD

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Dr. Joseph Kovacs

Joseph Kovacs, MD

Senior Investigator
Head, AIDS Section
Head, Scientific Director, 4D Lab

Critical Care Medicine
jkovacs@cc.nih.gov
301-496-9907

Dr. Joseph Kovacs' research interests include the treatment and prevention of HIV infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Pneumocystis pneumonia, and Toxoplasma gondii infection.

BA, Harvard University
MD, Cornell University Medical College

Dr. Kovacs is a senior investigator in the Clinical Center's Critical Care Medicine Department at the National Institutes of Health. Since 1987, he has served as head of CCMD's AIDS Section. He also is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

He completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard University and obtained his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. After an internship and residency at New York Hospital, he came to the CC in 1982 for fellowships in infectious diseases and critical care.

He currently is active in several societies and organizations, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation (elected to membership in 1994) and the Association of American Physicians (elected in 1998). He has served on several editorial boards of professional journals in infectious diseases and drug resistance, including as associate editor of Journal of Infectious Diseases.

See his Intramural Research Program bio page.

  • Associate Editor, Journal of Infectious Diseases-2002 to 2022
  • Harriet P. Dustan Award for Outstanding Work in Science as Related to Medicine, American College of Physicians, 2020
  • NIH Director's Award for Scientific Achievement, 2019
  • Clinical Center Director's Award, 2016
  • Feder Lectureship, Weil Cornell Medical College, 2012
  • Clinical Center Director's Award, 1999
  • Outstanding Service Medal, US Public Health Service, 1995
  • Young Investigator Award, 1993, Eastern Region, American Federation for Clinical Research
  • Young Investigator Award, 1988, Society of Critical Care Medicine
  • American Society for Clinical Investigation (elected in 1994)
  • Association of American Physicians (elected in 1998)

Ma L, Chen Z, Huang DW, Cisse OH, Rothenburger JL, Latinne A, Bishop L, Blair R, Brenchley JM, Chabe M, Deng X, Hirsch V, Keesler R, Kutty G, Liu Y, Margolis D, Morand S, Pahar B, Peng L, Van Rompay KKA, Song X, Song J, Sukura A, Thapar S, Wang H, Weissenbacher-Lang C, Xu J, Lee CH, Jardine C, Lempicki RA, Cushion MT, Cuomo CA, Kovacs JA. Diversity and Complexity of the Large Surface Protein Family in the Compacted Genomes of Multiple Pneumocystis Species. mBio. 2020;11(2). Epub 2020/03/05. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02878-19. PMID: 32127451; PMCID: 7064768.

Cissé OH, Ma L, Kovacs JA. Retracing the evolution of Pneumocystis species, with a focus on the human pathogen Pneumocystis jirovecii. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2024;88(2):e0020222.

Cissé OH, Curran SJ, Folco HD, Liu Y, Bishop L, Wang H, Fischer ER, Davis AS, Combs C, Thapar S, Dekker JP, Grewal S, Cushion M, Ma L, Kovacs JA. Regional centromere configuration in the fungal pathogens of the Pneumocystis genus. mBio. 2024;15(3):e0318523.

Cissé OH, Ma L, Dekker JP, Khil PP, Youn JH, Brenchley JM, Blair R, Pahar B, Chabé M, Van Rompay KKA, Keesler R, Sukura A, Hirsch V, Kutty G, Liu Y, Peng L, Chen J, Song J, Weissenbacher-Lang C, Xu J, Upham NS, Stajich JE, Cuomo CA, Cushion MT, Kovacs JA. Genomic insights into the host specific adaptation of the Pneumocystis genus. Commun Biol. 2021;4(1):305.

Sassi M, Curran SJ, Bishop LR, Liu Y, Kovacs JA. CD40 Expression by B cells is Required for Optimal Immunity to Murine Pneumocystis Infection. J Infect Dis. 2024.

Visit PubMed.gov for a full list of Dr. Kovacs' publications.