John D. Ayres

John is an internal medicine physician recently retired from Eli Lilly who now provides limited consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry and government agencies. He remains actively involved in drug safety topics and is a member of the United States Pharmacopeia expert panels. Prior to his work at Lilly, John practiced internal medicine in both community and academic institutions.

John served abroad for 4 years in the US Navy aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). Upon his discharge in 1976, he attended Butler University and then went on to medical school at Indiana University and completed his internal medicine residency training at the IU medical center. His medical education and residency training occurred during the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic--caring for patients at a time that opportunistic infections and immune deficiency syndrome preceded the discovery of the causative agent. And he saw first-hand the negative pubic response and troubling cultural isolation that affected individuals endured.

With this background and his experiences taking care of patients and having family and friends impacted by HIV, John is passionate about the work, care, and services the Damien Center has developed and what the Center can be in the years ahead. He looks forward to being a part of this important and most critical community asset.