Dr. Byrd is a Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He received his MD from Vanderbilt University and completed his residency at the University of Florida where he also served as Chief Medical Resident. He completed a clinical fellowship at UCLA and the research component of his training in the laboratory of Dr. Marcus Horwitz where he was the recipient of an NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA).
He is a clinical investigator with a strong commitment to laboratory investigation. His research focuses on mycobacterial pathogenesis, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria. He is a past recipient of the DeSouza Research Award from the American Lung Association funded to study the role of glycopeptidolipid in Mycobacterium abscessus colonization and invasion, and has published studies in this area.
Dr. Byrd is also Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity (CIDI) which hosts a ABSL3 laboratory for select agent research and currently has funding through the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
Dr. Byrd also serves as Executive Chair of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (Human Research Review Committee). He teaches a seminar course in Bioethics of Human Research and also lectures on various topics related to this area throughout the year.
