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Anthony Fauci biography and career timeline

Photos courtesy of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Dr. Anthony Fauci has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President for seven different administrations. As head of the NIAID, he oversaw research on how to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and more. He has accomplished a long list of medical achievements and scientific observations on understanding the human immune response. This timeline explores Dr. Fauci’s life and the major milestones in his career.

 

 

 

December 24, 1940
THE EARLY YEARS

THE EARLY YEARS

Anthony Stephen Fauci was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 24, 1940. His father, Stephen A. Fauci, was a pharmacist who owned his own pharmacy in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The family lived above the pharmacy and a young Tony Fauci would help his father deliver prescriptions by bicycle.

December 24, 1940
May 1962

Fauci attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts in pre-medicine.

May 1962
May 1966
RECEIVING HIS MEDICAL DEGREE

RECEIVING HIS MEDICAL DEGREE

He continued his education at Cornell University’s Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medicine), in New York City, and graduated at the top of his class with a Doctorate of Medicine in 1966.

May 1966
May 1966—January 1968

Immediately after graduation, Fauci began a four-year internship and residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (now Weill Cornell Medical Center) in New York City.

May 1966—January 1968
January 1968—January 1974
JOINING THE NIAID

JOINING THE NIAID

Fauci joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a clinical associate in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in 1968. He worked under Sheldon M. Wolff, the Chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation (LCI), who became his close friend and mentor.

January 1968—January 1974
January 1974—January 1977

Fauci became the head of the LCI's Clinical Physiology Section in January 1974 for three years.

January 1974—January 1977
January 1977—January 1984

Fauci became the Deputy Clinical Director at the NIAID in January 1977.

In 1983, Dr. Fauci met his future wife, Dr. Christine Grady, at the NIH, where she was working as a clinical nurse specialist at the time. Dr. Fauci asked for her help translating for a Portuguese-speaking patient, which Dr. Grady was fluent in. The two married in 1985 and later had three daughters.

January 1977—January 1984
January 1984—December 2022
BECOMING DIRECTOR OF THE NIAID

BECOMING DIRECTOR OF THE NIAID

Fauci began his tenure as the Director of the NIAID in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan. He served in this role for 39 years, until his retirement at the end of 2022.

Dr. Fauci played a vital role in the early 1980s in the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, acting as a leading researcher on the discovery, diagnosis and treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS. His treatment of the AIDS crisis was at first widely criticized, and LGBTQIA+ activists directed their anger towards him for what they considered a slow and unorganized response from the government. However, in later years he became a widely respected ally for engaging with and listening to activists.

January 1984—December 2022
January 2021—December 2022
BECOMING

BECOMING "AMERICA'S DOCTOR"

Fauci served as President Joe Biden's Chief Medical Advisor, from Biden's inauguration in January 2021 until the end of 2022.

In this role, Dr. Fauci helped develop the Biden administration's plan to rollout the COVID-19 vaccine to the nation.

January 2021—December 2022
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