Charles Chiu, M.D., Ph.D.

Charles Chiu, M.D., Ph.D.

University of California, San Francisco

Charles Chiu, M.D., Ph.D., is professor of laboratory medicine and medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at University of California, San Francisco. Chiu is also the director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center (VDDC) and associate director of the UCSF Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Chiu currently leads a translational research laboratory focused on metagenomic next-generation sequencing assay development for infectious disease diagnostics and investigation of the pathogenesis of and immune responses to emerging pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease), enterovirus D68 in acute flaccid myelitis, Zika virus and, most recently, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. He is also developing new technologies, such as nanopore sequencing and RNA-Seq transcriptome profiling, to develop predictive models, using machine learning for host response-based diagnosis of infections.

Chiu’s work has been supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Abbott Laboratories, Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation and the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine. Chiu has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications (over 30 related to COVID-19), holds over 15 patents and patent applications, and serves on the scientific advisory board for Mammoth Biosciences, Inc., Biomesense and Poppy Health, Inc.