Notable UH and CWRU Clinician, Researcher and Educator, Robert Salata, MD, FACP, FIDSAH, Passes Away

CLEVELAND -- Leaders at University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University are saddened to share news of the passing of Robert Salata, MD, FACP, FIDSAH. Dr. Salata died at 72 years old on August 26.

His impact on both UH and Case Western Reserve is immense. While his talents were honed in Cleveland, Dr. Salata’s impact was felt around the world, and will continue to be.

Dr. Salata graduated from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and served his internship and residency in internal medicine at UH. He was named Chief Resident at UH in 1985.

He served as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine for nearly 20 years at both UH and Case Western Reserve. He was the founding Director of the Infectious Diseases and Immunology Institute in the School of Medicine. He also served Medical Director of Infection Control and Prevention at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

Dr. Salata was a local, regional and national leader and educator during the COVID-19 pandemic and was featured in numerous media interviews and webinars for the community as the pandemic unfolded in real-time. His renowned research in infectious disease served as one of the reasons UH became first site for the Remdesivir clinical trial, one of the first treatments for COVID-19, and eventually the Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, where he led that clinical trial.

Dr. Salata wrote hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. His research interests included the epidemiology of infectious diseases, clinical trials of new therapeutic agents for emerging infections and HIV/AIDS as well as the epidemiology and prevention of HIV. His work on clinical trials resulted in continuous funding for these activities from the National Institutes of Health. He was an active principal investigator on HIV/AIDS-related research studies for the Uganda-Case Western Reserve University Research Collaboration since 1997.

“Bob was among our most distinguished School of Medicine alumni," said Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler. "His abiding commitment to advancing health initiatives both in this country and abroad will be among his greatest accomplishments."

Dr. Salata worked with philanthropist Roe Green and Case Western Reserve to advance global health initiatives from each institution and establish a state-of-the-art research hub called the Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Roe Green Medical Education and Research Building in Kampala, Uganda. The collaborative gave rise to a central facility to conduct research, meetings, training and medical care. 

“Bob’s lasting legacy – outside of his family – might be the generations of physicians he inspired and mentored,” UH Chief Executive Officer Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair. “Countless physicians have cited Dr. Salata’s clinical excellence, compassion and genuine interest in them as key factors that guided them through their most difficult moments of training and early academic career development.”

Dr. Salata was recognized with a Department of Medicine Teacher of the Year award, as a Master Clinician Educator in the Department of Medicine and the inaugural recipient of the Master Clinician in Infectious Diseases at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

Dr. Salata was the STERIS Chair of Excellence in Medicine at UH, the John H. Hord Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine at Case Western Reserve, the Physician-in-Chief, Distinguished Physician and Senior Attending Physician at UH Cleveland Medical Center, and Director of the UH Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine & Global Health.

###