Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Disclosure(s): Principal investigator for research grants from the National Cancer Institute, and Gilead Sciences: Grant/Research Support
Harrys A. Torres, MD, FACP, FAASLD, FIDSA, is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control, and Employee Health, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases, with additional certifications in HIV/AIDS and Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Dr. Torres is the founder and director of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) clinic at MD Anderson, which is the first dedicated clinic in the U.S. and likely in the world, focused on managing HCV in cancer patients.
He is a member of several committees for professional societies, including IDSA, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). Dr. Torres serves as the Chair of the AASLD Special Interest Group on HCV, and he designs the program on viral hepatitis for IDWeek.
Dr. Torres' work has significantly influenced the standard of care for HCV-infected cancer patients. He is dedicated to facilitating translational research in the prevention, detection, and treatment of HCV in patients with cancer. Notably, he has highlighted that HCV is a neglected condition among cancer patients and has discovered new associations between HCV and other cancers, such as head and neck cancers. Moreover, he has documented the effectiveness, and safety of antiviral therapy in HCV-infected patients with any type of cancer. Dr. Torres is the principal investigator for research grants on HCV from the NIH/NCI and investigator-initiated studies from pharmaceutical companies. His additional interests include hepatitis B virus, hepatitis D virus, and hepatitis E virus infections in immunocompromised patients.