Robert Merritt Chanock (July 8, 1924 – July 30, 2010) was an American pediatrician and virologist who made major contributions to the prevention and treatment of childhood respiratory infections in more than 50 years spent at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci called Chanock "an outstanding scientist whose innumerable contributions to the understanding of viral diseases helped make the world a healthier place for millions of people".