John Alverdy, M.D., FACS
Founder, Chief Scientific Officer and Board Member 

John Alverdy is a nationally and internationally recognized surgeon-scientist whose laboratory focuses on the molecular basis of surgical infections and the gut microbiome. At Covira, John oversees the Company’s platform and pipeline research. His research has received continuous National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding since 1999, and he has mentored many postdoctoral fellows, surgical trainees, and colleagues. 

John is the Sarah and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice-chair, department of surgery, University of Chicago. He has served in leadership positions at many national organizations. He is the past-president of the Surgical Infection Society North America.  

Dr. Alverdy graduated from medical school at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico, and spent one year at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL, and then completed a surgical residency at Michael Reese Hospital, an affiliate of the University of Chicago at the time. He completed a surgical research fellowship at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) under the mentorship of George F. Sheldon, MD, FACS, ACS Past-President.