Wilbur (Wil) Kearse Milhous, PhD, F(AAM) D(ABMM)
Associate Dean for Research , USF College of Public Health


Wilbur Kearse Milhous is the Associate Dean for Research at the USF College of Public Health, where he also serves as a professor of Global Health. In his role as associate dean for research, Dr. Milhous leads a team of more than 100 public health researchers and general faculty members and oversees the college's multi million dollar research and training centers. USF's College of Public Health is the only accredited school of public health in Florida. In 2006, the college was the recipient of more than $16 million in external funding alone, building its research base with awards for public health preparedness, bioterrorism surveillance, community-based marketing and community engagement. Under Dr. Milhous' leadership, the college is focused on key areas of research that include health disparities, maternal and child health, and global health.

Prior to joining the USF College of Public Health, Dr. Milhous served as Research Coordinator for the Military Infectious Disease Research Program and Chief Science Officer at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Maryland where he directed translational research in neglected diseases, such as malaria. WRAIR is the nation's oldest school of public health and preventive medicine and the largest biomedical research facility in the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Milhous is an internationally recognized leader in the field of infectious diseases-chemotherapy. He has made a name for himself in translational research with his ability to move drugs from the early stages of research in the basic science lab into the hands of doctors in the trenches.

Dr. Milhous is a Fellow of the Academy and Diplomate of American Board of Medical Microbiology. With appointments in Preventive Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology at Uniformed Services University, he served as an instructor for medical students, graduate students, clinical pharmacology & infectious disease fellows. As a senior National Research Council advisor, he has a robust research and publication record (8 patents, 120 manuscripts & 12 book chapters). He has served as PI, Co-PI or senior advisor of multiple research grant awards from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), World Health Organization (WHO), and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

Dr. Milhous is an advisory board member to numerous international organizations and his research awards include the Gorgas Medal for Distinguished Work in Preventive Medicine, the Ashford Medal for Distinguished Work in Tropical Medicine and two USA R&D Achievement Awards for novel therapeutics. He obtained his PhD from the University of North Carolina & received the Greenberg Award in a school-wide competition for doctoral research. Dr. Milhous began his public health career as a registered specialist in Public Health and Medical Microbiology at military hospitals in Louisiana and North Carolina, and underwent post graduate specialty training at National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Duke University.

During critical periods after the September 11, 2001 attacks, he served as the microbiology consultant to the Army Surgeon General and assisted in coordinating efforts at regional Dept. of Defense medical centers, working with the Laboratory Response Network, local and state health officials and authorities at the CDC.