OUR HIV EXPERTS

Dr. Gregory Huhn came to ViiV Healthcare with a passion developed early in life during an uncommon volunteer experience. Inspired to help people more directly, he left his job at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego at age 25 to work as a hospital laboratory technician in Monrovia, Liberia. There he set up an innovative blood bank using local donations to meet expanding needs, and partnered with Médecins Sans Frontières to screen the blood supply using rapid HIV tests, years before their introduction in the U.S. In an unexpected development four months after his arrival, Greg was evacuated by U.S. Marines following a two-day journey downcountry from Liberia’s St. Joseph’s Hospital after its bombing during rapidly escalating violence and civil war. He stayed until the last possible moment, helping to evacuate more than 200 patients to safety and carrying them on his back as needed. While the experience might have deterred many from further service, Greg found it only strengthened his resolve to pursue medicine and his interests in HIV and infectious diseases. He has continued that dedication over the past 3+ decades, cultivating experience and expertise as an astute clinician, researcher, and leader. The drive, curiosity, and hope that at one time led Greg to Liberia have more recently led him to ViiV, where he is honored to be of service in the HIV and infectious disease communities.
 

Current Role

Greg joined ViiV in the Fall of 2024 as a Regional Medical Director for North America Medical Affairs. In this role, Greg educates and forms relationships with patients, healthcare providers, and organizations that interact directly with people living with HIV. He seeks to understand their issues and applies his insights and experience to assist ViiV in creating relevant strategies and materials. As a recognized HIV expert for ViiV, Greg plays a key role in the planning, development, and delivery of educational campaigns and tools, and leads training for Medical Information and Field staff to ensure they are up-to-date on new products and complex issues. Concurrent with his work at ViiV, Greg continues in his clinic work in Chicago, Illinois, treating people living with HIV or other infectious diseases. He also continues his academic appointments as Professor in the Department of Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Experience

Prior to joining ViiV, Greg served in several concurrent roles at Cook County Health in Chicago—as Interim Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Interim Medical Director of the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center in the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Senior Director of HIV Services. He was also an Attending Physician in Infectious Disease at Cook County Hospital, practicing for over 18 years until the Fall of 2024. Greg provided consultative services for infectious disease conditions and conducted and managed outpatient primary care and specialty care at the CORE Center’s HIV, Hepatitis, and Infectious Diseases Clinics. During his appointment over four years as COVID-19 Vaccination Coordinator for Cook County Health during the COVID-19 pandemic, Greg quickly assembled a team in Fall 2020 that ultimately delivered over one million vaccinations through mass vaccination and community sites. He lectures frequently for the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and has made numerous media appearances covering COVID-19, HIV, and infectious diseases. Greg’s research activities include HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, mpox, viral immunopathogenesis, infectious disease surveillance, and outbreak investigations. He has contributed as a therapeutic advisor and content expert for continuing medical education programs covering HIV, viral hepatitis, or COVID-19. In addition, Greg has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and in 2020 released a book by Oxford University Press as editor entitled “HIV: What Do I Do Now.”

In other roles, Greg was a practicing consultant in infectious diseases for 16 years at ACCESS Community Health Network, a large Federally Qualified Health Center in Chicago, where he established a comprehensive viral hepatitis clinic. From 2002 to 2004, he was based in Chicago at the Illinois Department of Public Health as the Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a role that brought him back to Liberia to monitor performance and safety of a yellow fever mass vaccination campaign just after the war. He previously worked for two years as a Medical Officer and Director of HIV Clinic Services for the Northern Navajo Medical Center, Indian Health Service in Shiprock, New Mexico.

Education

Greg received an M.D. degree in 1996 from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he also earned a concurrent Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in 2005, and trained in Internal Medicine prior to that for three years at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. In undergraduate studies, Greg received a B.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Personal Interests

Greg lives on the north side of Chicago with his wife and two children. He enjoys international travel with his family, including visiting his wife’s homeland of Brazil. Greg plays tennis and squash in his free time and also enjoys running, landscaping projects, and crafting smoked barbecue. He holds a single-engine pilot’s license—but prefers land-based adventures these days.