Dr. Nichols serves as a Medical and Clinical Development Advisor for Kovina Therapeutics. He received his medical degree and trained in Internal Medicine at Duke University prior to earning a Masters degree in Epidemiology and completing a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington.  He spent four years on the faculty of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, where he was the Head of Infection Control and the principal investigator on NIH-funded grants exploring the prevention and treatment of viral infections in hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients.

 Dr. Nichols led multiple global development multiple global antiviral programs in the United States and Europe for Glaxo Smith Kline and ViiV Healthcare, including the full Phase 2 and Phase 3 development and global regulatory submissions that led to the approval of dolutegravir (TIVICAY)and its fixed dose combination product (TRIUMEQ) for the treatment of patients living with HIV, leading to his appointment as the Head of Clinical Development for ViiV. He was the Chief Medical Officer at Chimerix from 2014-2020,developing brincidofovir (TEMBEXA) for the treatment of dsDNA viral infections in HCT recipients with hematologic malignancies and solid organ transplant recipients; TEMBEXA was ultimately approved by the FDA as a medical countermeasure for smallpox infections. In April 2020, he joined Istari Oncology as its Chief Medical Officer in order to develop its viral immunotherapeutic (lerapolturev, PVSRIPO) for the treatment of several solid tumors, including glioblastoma, melanoma, bladder cancer, and squamous cell cancer of the head and neck.