Anthony S. Fauci Awarded Highest Honor of the Association of American Physicians

Fauci, M.D., director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA) 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, remarked 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, said 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.

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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS issues, and on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats such as pandemic influenza.

Dr. Fauci, a pioneer in the field of human immunoregulation, received acclaim for developing effective therapies for the formerly fatal rheumatologic 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.

The recipient of 31 honorary doctorates, Dr. Fauci is a member of the U.S. 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.


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