We all know the name Dr. Anthony Fauci and recognize the man who regularly appeared on television screens in 2020, giving advice and guidance on how to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, there is more to Anthony Fauci beyond the public figure. This article aims to explore the many facets of the man, the scientist, and the doctor through photos from his lifetime.
1. Fauci the athlete
Anthony Stephen Fauci was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 24, 1940. His father, Stephen A. Fauci, was a pharmacist who owned a pharmacy in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. As a kid, Fauci was quite athletic – helping his father deliver prescriptions by bicycle and captaining his high school basketball team.
2. Fauci the student
Fauci attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts in pre-medicine. 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.
3. Fauci the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
In the midst of the AIDS epidemic in 1984, Anthony Fauci became the Director of NIAID, a position he’d hold for 38 years. At NIAID, scientists conduct research to understand a litany of infectious disease and to develop diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for those diseases.
4. Fauci the physician
Fauci says that “fundamentally, I’m a physician” – meaning someone who diagnoses and treats patients. However, another aspect of his work at NIAID includes conducting clinical research. In fact, Fauci’s work in the early ’80s led to the understanding of how HIV destroys the human immune system and progresses into AIDS.
5. Fauci the public servant
When Fauci became the Director of NIAID, he transformed the role into a multifaceted one – one that not only participated in and oversaw clinical research, but also got involved in policy decisions that more directly interacted with Congress. This expanded role ultimately allowed him to help change the way our country handles clinical trials by increasing the number of patients who had access to life-saving experimental HIV treatments. Pictured is Fauci speaking at a House Appropriations Hearing in 1987.
6. Fauci the target and advocate of protests
There have been several times in Fauci’s career where he has been publicly protested. In fact, despite being initially hated, Fauci became a respected ally to AIDS activists at organizations like Act Up by engaging them, listening to them and advocating for their demands with Congress and other leadership, leading to faster care for those in need.
7. Fauci the international figure
Fauci has described PEPFAR as “the most impactful thing in my career.” U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was a global program made with George W. Bush to provide treatment to people with HIV. The program is estimated to have saved over 20 million lives across 50 countries. Pictured is Dr. Anthony Fauci receiving the Presidential Award of Freedom for his work on PEPFAR.
8. Fauci the presidential advisor
As director of NIAID, it was Fauci’s job to advise presidents on infectious diseases like AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19. In that capacity, Fauci has worked for seven different presidential administrations – Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
9. Fauci the husband
Anthony Fauci met Dr. Christine Grady in 1983 while they were both working at the NIH. Fauci says it was “love at first sight…she was intelligent, beautiful, spoke multiple languages and she had a very wonderful bedside manner. I immediately said, ‘I have to go out with her.’” Dr. Grady is now the Chief of the Department of Bioethics at the NIH. Her and Anthony Fauci are happily married with three children.
10. Fauci the nation’s Doctor
Pictured is Anthony Fauci in the context many of us know him best – a White House Coronavirus Update Briefing in 2020. Fauci’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic disseminating public health guidance is the reason this athlete, scientist and physician is a household name.
