Anthony Fauci

Anthony Stephen Fauci (born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 to 2022 and as Chief Medical Advisor to the President from 2021 to 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was one of the world's most frequently cited scientists across all scientific journals from 1983 to 2002.

Fauci graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, where he studied classics, and earned his Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University. As a physician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Fauci served in the American public health sector for more than fifty years and has acted as an advisor to every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan. During his time as NIAID director, he was known for his contributions to HIV/AIDS research and other immunodeficiency diseases. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2005 for pioneering HIV pathogenesis research and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 for his work on PEPFAR, an AIDS relief program, by President George W. Bush.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci served under President Donald Trump as one of the lead members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. His advice was frequently contradicted by Trump, and Trump's supporters alleged that Fauci was trying to politically undermine Trump's run for re-election in 2020. Under the Biden administration, Fauci served as one of the lead members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team and as Biden's chief medical advisor, during which time his advice was generally supported. On Biden's last full day in office, Fauci was issued a preemptive pardon covering potential federal offenses between January 1, 2014, and January 19, 2025.