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| Dr, Fauci at SPS |
Yesterday the St. Albans School of Public Service was fortunate enough to hear from one of the giants of American public health, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Fauci has been the Director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. As the NIAID Director, Dr. Fauci oversees major research efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Dr. Fauci is a key White House advisor on issues such as global HIV/AIDS and efforts to fight emerging infectious diseases and influenza pandemics. We also learned that Dr. Fauci has testified before Congress 218 times, more than anyone else in history! Dr. Fauci has received numerous awards over his storied career, most notably the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dr. Fauci spoke to our group about his own path to public service, including his early awareness of the growing HIV/AIDS crisis, his efforts to help coordinate the U.S. response, and more recently, his efforts in responding to the outbreak of Ebola (including the NIH's treatment of an American health care worker who had contracted Ebola). Dr. Fauci then took a range of questions from the SPS students on issues ranging from the response to Ebola to thoughts on key public health steps for prevention of pandemics.
