E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH
E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, is an internist, pulmonologist, and critical care physician. Dr. Ely earned his MD at Tulane University School of Medicine, in conjunction with a Master’s in Public Health. He serves as the Grant W. Liddle endowed chair in medicine and is a physician-scientist and tenured Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is also the Associate Director of aging research for the Tennessee Valley Veteran’s Affairs Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC) in Nashville, TN. He is the founder and co-director of the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center, and a pioneer in the investigation of delirium and long-term cognitive outcomes, including dementia, in survivors of critical illness, with continuous NIH and VA funding for 25 years and over 600 peer-reviewed publications. He designed and was a lead investigator for the study of JAK/STAT inhibitors in acute COVID-19, which successfully proved a survival advantage for this class of medications, leading to FDA approval and the strong WHO recommendation for these medications for hospitalized patients receiving oxygen. He is the principal investigator for an NIA/NIH-funded phase III investigation of immunomodulation for patients suffering from Long COVID. His CIBS research center hosts free daily support groups to provide community and help in recovery for patients with Long COVID and their families. Dr. Ely is the author of a work of narrative non-fiction entitled Every Deep-Drawn Breath, from which he’s donating 100% net proceeds to help COVID survivors and family members rebuild their lives.