William A. Knaus, M.D.
Evelyn Troup Hobson Professor
Department of Public Health Sciences
M.D., West Virginia University School of Medicine, 1972
P.O. Box 800717
Tel: 1-434-924-8753
Fax: 1-434-924-8437
Email: wknaus@virginia.edu
Health System West Complex Room 3189
Expertise:
An experienced academic physician educator/scientist with a record
of accomplishments in developing innovative approaches to education,
research, and health care services.
...more
EXPERIENCE
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Professor &
Founding Chair, Department of Health Evaluation Sciences recently
re-titled Public Health Sciences (1996-present)
Designed and developed a new department within School of Medicine.
Drafted strategic and business plans, established five-year objectives,
recruited division directors, executive director, and initial faculty.
Initiated external research and contract partners and negotiated
contracts with health care informatics, managed care, and biotechnology
firms. Attracted first clinical genetics research grant at UVA for
development of clinical risk assessment software application. Developed
integrated clinical and administrative data repository to support
research and management efforts throughout school of medicine and
health system. Initiated and led development of new Master’s program in
Health Evaluation Sciences that is currently 2nd largest graduate
degree program in School of Arts and Sciences and has lead to
development of new university wide integrated Master’s of Public
Health. The Department changed its title in 2005 to Public Health
Sciences. Dr. Knaus is currently leading university wide effort to
develop human genetics research and education programs with the
establishment of a new university wide Center for Public Health
Genomics. Public Health Sciences has 34 full-time and 40 associate
faculty members. Review of Chairman concluded that he brought
“extremely valuable leadership and intellectual force both within this
institution and internationally “.
Dr. Knaus was elected to The Institute of Medicine; National Academy of
Sciences in 2000. In 2004 Dr. Knaus was awarded The Distinguished
Investigator Award from the American College of Critical Care Medicine
and in 2006 the GE-Healthcare Pioneering Spirit Award.
APACHE Medical Systems, Inc.
Founder (1988) and Director (1994) and past President and CEO
(2000)
Founded the first commercial decision-support software and outcomes
management companies in order to disseminate and support APACHE
approach to risk assessment and outcomes evaluation. Following initial
start-up financing attracted venture and private funding totaling $15M
over five years. Recruited corporate management and directed strategic
aspects of product development, which received Smithsonian award for
innovative contemporary software, design. Dr. Knaus help support
Initial Public offering in 1996 with initial market value of $25M on
NASDAQ (AMSI). Participated in creation of a new market for
disease-specific modeling and pre-trial strategic approaches for
design, data analysis, FDA approval, and cost-effectiveness studies for
biotech and pharmaceutical developers and health care service
companies. From July 1 to December 31, 2000, assumed responsibilities
as President and CEO as part of major re-structuring and subsequent
sale to Cerner Corporation (CERN: NASDAQ).
Patient Command, Inc. and Intelligent Search technologies,
LLC. (2000-present)
Dr. Knaus and his business partner Richard Marks are currently
developing a primary patient-centric certified Personal Health Record
Company, Patient Command, based on business process patents filed in
2000. He has also partnered with a UVA faculty colleague, Mir Siadaty,
to launch a new refined search engine and data mining capabilities for
the biomedical literature and large heterogeneous clinical databases
with the formation of Intelligent Search Technologies LLC. The first
product of this endeavor, a refined search engine for the biomedical
literature as represented in MEDLINE, www.relemed.com went online in
January 2007.
The George Washington University Director, ICU Research
Unit Professor, School of Medicine (1978-1995)
Created clinical research unit focused on developing severity of
illness and prognostic scoring system for critically ill hospitalized
patients, APACHE (Acute Physiology, Age, Chronic Health Evaluation).
Expanded initial database of 500 to over 1,000,000 cases worldwide with
databases in Europe, Australia, South America, and Japan establishing
APACHE system as international standard for evaluating and predicting
outcomes of patients treated within Intensive Care Units.
Designed and successfully managed largest and most well supported ($30
million) clinical trial of physician decision making ever completed,
The SUPPORT (Study to Understand Prognoses, Preferences, and Outcomes
from Treatment) Trial. SUPPORT is widely credited with initiating and
defining the ongoing national debate and re-examination of U.S.
approach to provision of care for seriously ill and dying patients.
The George Washington University Director, ICU Research
Unit Professor, School of Medicine (1978-1995)
Created clinical research unit focused on developing severity of
illness and prognostic scoring system for critically ill hospitalized
patients, APACHE (Acute Physiology, Age, Chronic Health Evaluation).
Expanded initial database of 500 to over 1,000,000 cases worldwide with
databases in Europe, Australia, South America, and Japan establishing
APACHE system as international standard for evaluating and predicting
outcomes of patients treated within Intensive Care Units.
Designed and successfully managed largest and most well supported ($30
million) clinical trial of physician decision making ever completed,
The SUPPORT (Study to Understand Prognoses, Preferences, and Outcomes
from Treatment) Trial. SUPPORT is widely credited with initiating and
defining the ongoing national debate and re-examination of U.S.
approach to provision of care for seriously ill and dying patients.
Research Interests:
William A. Knaus, M.D. is the Evelyn Troup Hobson Professor and founding Chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia Health System.
Dr. Knaus received his medical degree from West Virginia University School ...moreof Medicine in 1972 and, after completing an internal medicine residency and critical care fellowship, served as the Co- Director of the ICU and established the ICU Research Unit at George Washington University. The ICU Research Unit focused on developing a severity of illness and prognostic scoring system for critically ill hospitalized patients, APACHE (Acute Physiology, Age, Chronic Health Evaluation). Supported and expanded with public and private grant funds from an initial database of 500 to over 1,000,000 cases worldwide, the APACHE scoring system has become the gold standard for severity scoring for acutely ill hospitalized patients.
Dr. Knaus also designed and successfully managed one of the largest and most influential clinical trials of physician decision-making, The SUPPORT (Study to Understand Prognoses, Preferences, and Outcomes from Treatment) Trial, ever conducted.
Since 1996, in his capacity as Chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia Health System, Dr. Knaus has designed and developed a new department within School of Medicine. He established Divisions of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Clinical Informatics, and Public Health Policy and Practice. The department developed and manages an integrated clinical and administrative data repository (CDR) to support research and management efforts throughout the School of Medicine and Health System.
In 2007 a new Center for Public Health Genomics under the directorship of Dr. Steven Rich, formerly of Wake Forest University, was established at UVA in partnership with the Department.
In addition to establishing NIH, Foundation, and corporate partnerships for the Department, Dr. Knaus continues his own research in novel decision support and medical software development for which he has been elected to The Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Knaus also designed and successfully managed one of the largest and most influential clinical trials of physician decision-making, The SUPPORT (Study to Understand Prognoses, Preferences, and Outcomes from Treatment) Trial, ever conducted.
Since 1996, in his capacity as Chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia Health System, Dr. Knaus has designed and developed a new department within School of Medicine. He established Divisions of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Clinical Informatics, and Public Health Policy and Practice. The department developed and manages an integrated clinical and administrative data repository (CDR) to support research and management efforts throughout the School of Medicine and Health System.
In 2007 a new Center for Public Health Genomics under the directorship of Dr. Steven Rich, formerly of Wake Forest University, was established at UVA in partnership with the Department.
In addition to establishing NIH, Foundation, and corporate partnerships for the Department, Dr. Knaus continues his own research in novel decision support and medical software development for which he has been elected to The Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.
Teaching Responsibilities:
Applied Biostatistics (Graduate Course); Race, Health Care, and Genomics (Undergraduate Honors Seminar co-taught with Professor Cart Trindle of UVA's Brown College)
Other Information:
Current Projects:
Recent Publications
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