IDCRC Profile: Zanthia Wiley, MD

Zanthia Wiley, MD is a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine. She currently serves as co-investigator in the Emory Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) at the Hope Clinic and is an Atlanta Hub MPI on the NIH RECOVER (Long COVID) study. As of August 1, 2025, she was announced as the co-chair of the Mentoring, Career Development and Training Committee (MCDC). Read the full announcement of her recent appointment here.  

Briefly describe your background in infectious disease research.

My background in infectious diseases research began in the midst of COVID.  I am an investigator within the Emory VTEU at the Emory Hope Clinic and have had a wonderful time collaborating with such brilliant, fun, dedicated colleagues for the past five years. I was fortunate to serve as an investigator within the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trials, and to play a part in the development of some of the earliest treatments of COVID was extremely gratifying. My primary role currently is as MPI of the RECOVER Atlanta (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery) study where we are seeking to understand and prevent Long COVID.

Can you share your experience with mentorship programs?

I am a product of stellar mentorship and mentorship programs. I was a member of the first MCDC cohort which was led by my mentor, Igho Ofotokun, MD, and Kathy Edward, MD at that time. During my first virtual meeting with Dr. Edwards, she was welcoming, kind, and motivating. Dr. Ofotokun taught me, first hand, how to lead RECOVER Atlanta and continues to challenge me, cheer for me, and always pushes me to higher grounds.

My mentor, Nadine Rouphael, MD, welcomed me with open arms to the Emory Hope Clinic, has helped me navigate the successes and challenges of research, and has always been one of my biggest supporters. (Fun fact: Nadine and I have known one another since we were Emory internal medicine interns).

I serve as the associate director of mentorship at the Hope Clinic. I am the immediate past president of the American Federation for Medical Research where our mission is to “develop and mentor tomorrow’s leaders in medical research”. I am MPI of the NIH R25-funded INSPIRE (Infectious Diseases Summer Program Integrating Research at Emory), which provides undergraduate students from across the U.S. the opportunity to explore careers in infectious diseases research and to conduct research. I am also assistant program director of the NIH-funded Emory-Nigeria HIV Research Training Program (EN-RTP), led by Dr. Ofotokun. This experience afforded me with the opportunity to mentor trainees in Lagos. The satisfaction and fulfillment that I have as a mentor leader is unparallelled. My mentees are a constant motivation to press forward with my love of, and belief in, science and research.

What are you looking forward to most in your new IDCRC role? 

I look forward to serving alongside MCDC co chair, Lara Danziger-Isakov, MD, to lead the very program where I got my start as a clinical researcher. I aim to provide the same level of support, motivation, and guidance that was provided to me in MCDC by Drs. Edwards, Ofotokun, Rouphael, and many others. This is the perfect way for me to pay it forward.