University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP) Professor Vincent H. Tam, Pharm.D., FIDSA, FIDP, FAAM, BCIDP, has been named the college’s first Moores Professor in over 20 years, one of the University of Houston’s most prestigious faculty distinctions.
Effective Sept. 1, the five-year professorship recognizes superlative performance among UH faculty members and includes an annual stipend to support the recipient’s continued scholarly work. Tam will be recognized during the university’s Faculty Awards celebration in fall 2026.
The recognition underscores Tam’s international reputation as one of the foremost experts in antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
His work has shaped scientific understanding, influenced clinical practice and helped position the college as a leader in translational antimicrobial research.
Tam is internationally known for his research in antimicrobial pharmacodynamics, resistance suppression and precision dosing strategies designed to optimize antimicrobial therapy. His work integrates microbiology, pharmacology and mathematical modeling to improve treatment outcomes while combating the global threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Over the course of his career, Tam has secured more than $12 million in research funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, private foundations and the pharmaceutical industry. His body of work includes more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, eight book chapters and two U.S. patents.
Tam’s scholarship has influenced international clinical guidelines related to polymyxin antimicrobial agents, once considered drugs of last resort, as well as microbiology laboratory testing standards. His research also has helped shape antimicrobial stewardship strategies aimed at preserving the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.
Tam holds joint appointments in the college’s Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research and Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also maintains a clinical and research site at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, where he helped launch the Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Epidemiology, which was recognized as an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Center of Excellence in 2010.
In addition to his research accomplishments, Tam has trained and mentored more than 20 Ph.D. candidates, postdoctoral fellows and international visiting scholars, and served on nearly 30 thesis and dissertation committees. He also has precepted more than 50 Pharm.D. candidates on clinical and research rotations.
Earlier this year, Tam was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology Fellowship Class of 2026, one of the highest honors in the microbial sciences. Tam was the only Pharm.D. among the 63-member 2026 cohort.
Tam also was named a Fellow of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) in 2024. He previously served on the SIDP Board of Directors and as the organization’s elected representative on the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, in addition to serving on multiple SIDP committees.
Other past honors include the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s Therapeutic Frontiers Lecture Award in 2024, the ASHP Foundation Literature Award for Sustained Contributions in 2019, Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2018, the SIDP Pharmacotherapy Paper of the Year Award in 2014, the SIDP Young Investigator Award in 2006, and the UH Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in 2008 and 2025.
"Receiving the Moores Professorship is a profound milestone that validates my lifelong dedication to both groundbreaking research and student mentorship,” Tam said. “Over the next five years, I plan to leverage this support to accelerate our lab's current initiatives and launch new, collaborative projects that push the boundaries of translational research. My ultimate hope is to foster an even more inclusive, innovative learning environment that empowers the next generation of scholars at the University of Houston."