Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday that he will retire from his government positions in December, including those of Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
In a statement published on the NIAID website, Fauci stated that he is resigning from his roles in order to "pursue the next chapter" of his professional life. He added that he will carry on working in the months ahead and prepare his positions for a leadership change. He said that he would not be leaving science or public health.
Fauci declared, "While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring." Dr. Fauci aims to pursue the next stage of his career while he still has so much energy and passion for his field after more than 50 years of government service.
In his 38 years as director of NIAID, Fauci, 81, has advised seven presidents and influenced public health responses to infectious diseases like COVID-19, the West Nile virus, Ebola, Zika, and HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Fauci held the position of NIAID director for the first time in the 1980s, under the Reagan administration.
He began working for the National Institutes of Health in 1968 when he was just 27 years old. He quickly moved up the organization, and in 1984 he was appointed director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 from former President George W. Bush.
"During my time as Vice President, I worked closely with Dr. Anthony Fauci on the United States' response to Zika and Ebola," Biden said in a statement Monday. "I came to know him as a dedicated public servant, and a steady hand with wisdom and insight honed over decades at the forefront of some of our most dangerous and challenging public health crises."
He served as chief medical adviser to both Biden and President Donald Trump throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to earlier reports, Fauci will leave his official positions before the end of Biden's presidency. Biden current's term ends in January 2025.
"Thanks to the power of science and investments in research and innovation, the world has been able to fight deadly diseases and help save lives around the globe," Fauci said. "I am proud to have been part of this important work and look forward to helping to continue to do so in the future."
