The life of Dr. Anthony Fauci

He’s the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases, has served under six presidents, and is now advising the nation on the coronavirus pandemic. This is Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Humble beginnings


Dr. Anthony Fauci was born on December 24, 1940 in Brooklyn. The grandson of Italian immigrants, he grew up in an apartment above his father’s pharmacy and used to deliver prescriptions to customers. He attended the Regis High School,a prestigious Jesuit school in Manhattan. At 26, he received his first M.D. from Cornell Medical College –ranking first in his class. In 1969, he joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – NIAID. In the early 1980s, he was at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic. In 1984, he was appointed director of the NIAID. As the point man on the AIDS epidemic for the Reagan administration, he came under attack from AIDS activists. After meeting with patients and activists, he streamlined the process for testing new drugs and successfully lobbied the FDA to make AIDS drugs more widely available.


After the 2001 anthrax attacks in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he helped drive the development of biodefense drugs and vaccines. He was an architect of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, started in 2003 by President George W. Bush, to fight H.I.V. globally. His work has earned him 39 honorary doctoral degrees from universities around the world. Most days, he runs or power walks 3.5 miles — and he even completed a marathon in 3 hours 37 minutes. In 2008, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his work in advancing HIV/AIDS research.


Where is he now?


He has been at the forefront of U.S. efforts to contend with viral diseases like SARS, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, MERS, and Ebola. Since January 2020, he’s been a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. At 79, he has emerged as the most trusted public official during the coronavirus outbreak and grabbed headlines by publicly bucking Trump’s talking points.


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