Anthony S. Fauci Awarded the Highest Honor of the Association of American Physicians
Immunologist and AIDS researcher Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been awarded the 2007 George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) for his outstanding contributions to academic medicine.
The Kober Medal is among the highest honors conferred upon physician-scientists in the United States. Dr. Fauci, a longtime AAP member and former AAP president, will be presented with the medal on April 15, 2007, at the joint meeting of The American Society for Clinical Investigation and the AAP in Chicago.
“Tony Fauci is the consummate physician-scientist leader,” says NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. “His contributions to medicine, public health and science are profound.”
“Dr. Fauci is a superb clinician who has made signal contributions to the fields of immunoregulation, rheumatology and HIV/AIDS,” says John I. Gallin, M.D., an AAP member and director of the NIH Clinical Center, who will present the medal to Dr. Fauci. “In addition, he has been a mentor and friend to a legion of younger investigators, many of whom have become top physician-scientists in their own right. Dr. Fauci also has been a leading scientific spokesman who has cogently informed the public about numerous public health challenges including HIV/AIDS, SARS, bioterrorism, and the threat of pandemic influenza.”
The Kober Medal is named after George M. Kober, M.D., a pioneer in public health reform in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. It recognizes physicians acknowledged as leaders in internal medicine. The AAP (http://www.aap-online.org) is a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1885 by seven physicians, including the renowned William Osler, for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.” The association has about 1,000 active members and approximately 550 emeritus and honorary members from the United States, Canada and other countries.
Dr. Fauci’s tenure as NIAID director began in 1984. He oversees an extensive research portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious and immunologic diseases. He also serves as one of the key advisors to the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services on global HIV/AIDS issues, and on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats such as pandemic influenza.
Dr. Fauci received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College and then completed an internship and residency at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He came to NIH in 1968 as a clinical associate in the NIAID Laboratory of Clinical Investigation. In 1974, he became head of the lab’s Clinical Physiology Section, and in 1980 was appointed chief of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation (http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/labs/aboutlabs/lir/default.htm), a position he still holds.
Dr. Fauci, a pioneer in the field of human immunoregulation, has received acclaim for developing effective therapies for the formerly fatal rheumatological diseases polyarteritis nodosa and Wegener’s granulomatosis. With the recognition of AIDS nearly 26 years ago, he switched his laboratory’s focus to the new disease, and since then has made numerous significant contributions to the understanding of AIDS pathogenesis. A ScienceWatch survey indicated that Dr. Fauci was the 13th most-cited scientist in the world in the 20-year period from 1983 to 2002 (http://www.sciencewatch.com/sept-oct2003/sw_sept-oct2003_page2.htm), and he was the world’s 10th most-cited HIV/AIDS researcher in the period 1996 to 2006 (http://www.esi-topics.com/hiv-aids/interviews/AnthonyFauci.html).
The recipient of 31 honorary doctorates, Dr. Fauci is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine (Council Member), the American Philosophical Society, and the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, as well as a number of other professional societies including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Association of Immunologists, and the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. He serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals; as an editor of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine; and as author, coauthor or editor of more than 1,100 scientific publications, including several textbooks.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—The Nation's Medical Research Agency—includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov
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