2010

Big Global Health Research Summit held at NIH (Fisher’s Lane) with big hitters attending. Convened by Francis Collins to flesh out suggestions for his Global Health Initiative as one of the 5 pillars of his tenure. Jack…

Finally had the launch of the DC – NIH HIV/AIDS Partnership. Went to Anacostia for a inauguration and press conference with me, Mayor Fenty, Councilman David Catania, Shannon Hader and Pierre Vigilance from DC Dept. of…

RE: Reminder about inputs for the potential White House Briefing on Sustainable Systems approach to MCM's — George: I am attaching our 1-pager as requested. Please let me know if you have any questons. Thanks, Tony -----Original Message----- From: Korch, George (OS) Sent: Monday…

Heidi Avery (see Dec. 30, 2009) called a meeting this evening (7:00 to 8:45 PM) in the Situation Room of the West Wing to discuss the broad plans to handle all public health threats, i.e. existing, naturally emerging…

Has long meeting in my office and private dinner at Trattoria Sorrento in Bethesda with Eric Goosby, the Ambassador at Large in charge of PEPFAR and the new Chief of the OGAC (Office of Global AIDS Coordinator) to…

Had strategy meeting in Building 31, Room 7A24 and subsequent dinner at Positano restaurant in Bethesda to determine the Institute’s strategy for vaccine research following the RV144 Thai trial results. I called in a…

Another meeting with Heidi Avery at the Situation Room in the West Wing of the WH to further discuss the new initiative to counter all public health threats including bioterror, but also all emerging and existing Health…

FW: Details for Friday's Meeting — Chrisy Goldie FAX: From: Bafford, Elizabeth A. [mailto: @omb.eop.gov] Sent: January 27, 2010 11:11 AM To: Bafford, Elizabeth A.; @gsk.com; Ruth, Lois Ann; Sandy Hecker…

Met at the White House (EEOB 234) with Heidi Avery, Zeke Emanuel and several Pharma people whom Zeke had called in to ask the question of what would they need to work with us on this project that Heidi and the rest of…

Synopsis of Conversation with Pharma/Bio Reps 29 Jan 2010 — Heidi, et al.: I have summarized the conversation with the VP's and representatives from the pharmaceutical / biotechnology industries regarding incentives promoting greater…

Another meeting in the Situation Room of the WH with Heidi Avery with the usual cast of characters. For the past 2 meetings, Andy …. From DoD has joined as has John Holdren from PCAST. There is tension building where…

Had AIDS Vaccine Research Subcommittee (AVRS) meeting at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel to discuss the way forward following the Thai trial (RV144). We discussed the same issues that I discussed at the smaller…

Opened the Genomics Blue Ribbon Panel at the Bethesda North Marriott to plan the direction of genomics research for NIAID. All the stars were there – Ian Lipkin, Eric Lander, etc. Eric gave a great speech. About the use…

Whole city is socked in with snow, but we still had meeting in Sit Room with the usual cast of characters. Heidi has obtained 1 hour face time for us with the POTUS, but the HHS crew is afraid. Issue is that they think…

We (the HHS team) brief Bill Corr (Deputy Secretary). Again conservative concern. I am all for Heidi’s initiative. These people just do not understand how important it is to get personal support of the POTUS (remember…

HHS team briefs Secretary Sebelius over the phone. She is smart, but clueless about what all this means. Nicki Lurie is inarticulate in explaining it to her. Nonetheless Heidi is going to give it a go with the POTUS…

Meet with the POTUS from 2:00 to 3:00 in the Situation Room. Richard and Heidi present and the HHS team answered questions. I was not shy in telling the PTUS what I thought. He said “Are we making this more complicated…

Another meeting at the Sit Room of the WH from 4:00 to 5:30 PM with Heidi Avery and the “team”. Getting ready for the various meetings next week of IOM (Secretary’s review), PCAST, and National Biodefense Science Board…

Continued activity in trying to dissect out what went right and/or wrong with the response to H1N1 flu. Still considerable tension between Heidi Avery who wants s “to transform” the system and make some leaps and the…

As per the “review”, a PCAST meeting c—chaired by Harold Varmus and Eric Lander was held at the Carnegie Institution on 1530 P Street, N.W. with David Baltimore, Tom Monath, Robert Coffman, Emilio Emini and others…

Regular Monday evening meeting in the Situation Room of the White House led by Heidi Avery with the usual cast of characters. Still inertia on HHS part and agitation by Heidi. Couple of days later (~ March 3 or 4) Heidi…

(no subject) — Let us discuss tomorrow the long conversation that I had tonight with Heidi Avery at 10:00pm. It is important.

Gave my yearly talk to the Zuckernman Fellows led by Mort Zuckerman and David Gergen. Then had the usual receptions that evening at Ronald and Beth Dozoretz’s home at 3005 45th Street, N.W. (right around the block from…

Under the continued generosity of Wayne and Catherine Reynolds to Chris and me, we were their guests at the premier showing of the Opera “War and Peace” at the Opera House of the Kennedy Center. Special elegant dinner…

Research Amer!ca Awards Gala at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue. Usual cast of characters.

For the past 2 Mondays have had the usual Situation Room White House meetings with Heidi Avery . Same theme – she is pushing HHS and I am very much on her side. Looks like a plan is taking shape. I am impressed with the…

Continue intense WH meetings with Heidi Avery in Sit Room tonight. I finally put together my version of how the USG should take responsibility for the advanced development, preferably in a physical facility that we buy…

Phone call on Saturday with Heidi. She wants to get more money for NIAID to help in the process of bringing investigators from concept to very early development in order to increase the pipeline of products in addition…

Continue with the Monday evening weekly meetings with Heidi Avery at the WH Sit. Room. Usual suspects. Still Heidi pushing and everyone but me pushing back. Peggy Hamburg seems her usual spacey self often not even…

Meet with Alan Bernstein (Executive Director of the “Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise” (see above comments about my negative reaction to this unnecessary group). Alan is a good guy, but is heading a superfluous…

After Action Review of the H1N1 response in Nicki and Jesse’s home in Bethesda (near the Palisades section). Beautiful home with magnificent view of the Potomac and the opposite Virginia shore. Beautiful sunny day…

Fw: Heads up — Tony, I'll add on on slide with 4 bullets summarizing the WH activity. Mike -------------------------- Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld. Please excuse my typing; I suffer…

Dedicated the Special Unit at the Clinical Center for vaccine studies. Honored Stewart Simonson for the role he played in pushing through the red tape to get this done. Had nice ceremony with Cliff, John Gallin, Gen Jim…

Was at the Georgetown Harbor near Thompson’s Boat House watching Ali’s Varsity Crew Boat compete in a regatta. Nice Spring day on the Potomac. Chris and I were with the usual parents group including our good friends Liz…

Went to the Lasker Board of Directors dinner at the Citronelle Restaurant in Georgetown at the invitation of Maria Freire. Sat next to Al Somer. Good evening, but ridiculous situation where the government people (me…

Continue to have weekly meetings in the Situation Room of WH led by Heidi Avery. Continued frustration on Heidi’s part about the lack of cooperation on part of Nicki Lurie and HHS. Heidi wants transformation and HHS is…

Another Sit Room WH meeting to discuss budget and implementation of MCM initiative. Continued tension. I am with Heidi.

Busy day. Two Congressional (House) Hearing in the Rayburn Building: 1) Appropriation Subcommittee chaired by David Obey. I accompanied Francis Collins along with Tom Insel (NIMH) and Griff Rogers (NIDDK) to testify…

ICD retreat - at the Cloisters. I spoke on the MCM initiative of the WH and the NIAID role in this. Others spoke on translational research. Much of meeting was on translational research. Clearly the NIH (under Francis)…

Did Congressional Briefing on AIDS research sponsored by AMFAR at the Rayburn Building. Susan Blumenthal chaired it. Also there was Wafaa El-Sadr.

Went to Saturday Brunch gala at The Haddad/Greenberg residence at 4852 Hutchins Place, N.W. as a pre- WH Correspondence Ball function. Featured Susan Axelrod of CURES (for epilepsy). Many of the usual DC glitterati…

Annual McLaughlin (now together with Reuters) Sunday Brunch after the WH Correspondents’ ball. Hel at the usual Rooftop of the Hay-Adams Hotel. Met with and spoke with Dennis Quaid who is an advocate of eliminating…

At his request, had meeting in my office with J. Craig Venter. He wanted to brief me and get my advice on how to handle the rollout of his upcoming Science paper on Synthetic Biology. He has made a major advance in…

We have been pushing the issue of more resources and activity on Neglected tropical Diseases (NTDs) here at NIAID. Peter Hotez from GW has been a leader in this field. Recently, Zeke Emanuel at OMB has been pushing it…

“Big Think” meeting at the Natcher Building of Outside consultants to discuss 3 of Francis’s pillars: 1) high throughput technology; 2) Translational Research; 3) Research involved in enhancing health care reform. All…

Gave Keynote at the NIAF Public policy Forum at the Rayburn Building. Typical of similar Italian functions. Again, continual activity at WH with MCM and Heidi.

Phenomenal reception/dinner at the Academy of Achievement on 16th Street, N.W. hosted by Wayne and Catherine Reynolds. Usual stars of DC were there: Eric Holder, media people, Gen. James Jones, Bob Barnett, etc., etc…

Science Management Working Group (SMRG) meeting in Building 31 to discuss the clinical center issues and the proposition to open it to the extramural community in exchange for the inflationary increases being paid for…

Waxman’s House Energy and Commerce committee want me to testify on May 27 with Craig Venter and others on synthetic biology and the science paper that just came out. White House is balking. I spoke with staffers Naomi…

Received the Joel A. Toubin Award for Advocacy on Behalf of HIV Infected People from the Whitman Walker Clinic at the Embassy of Sweden at 2900 K street on the Georgetown Waterfront. Amazingly beautiful day. Reception…

Met with Francis Collins, Harold Varmus (recently announced as new NCI Director, John Burklow (OC for OD), Kathy Hudson, and Pat White (Leg for NIH OD) regarding the disturbing Administration policy of “muzzling” NIH…

testify before House Energy and Commerce Committee on synthetic biology related to the Science paper by Venter et al on the synthesis of Mycoplasma mycoides and insertion into a Mycoplasma capricolum to ultimately have…

Met with Rick Klausner at my house for catch-up. He is in town to meet with OSTP regarding preparedness issues similar to the types that I have been working on with Heidi Avery. June 8-11, 2010 – Visited RML for the BSC…

Flag day at NCS. Alii took the Science, Math and Spanish Prizes. She would have won the Flag (for highest GPA over 3rd and 4th year) but an English teacher who is a known asshole gave her an A-.

Graduation Day at NCS. Feeling very sad that my baby (Ali) will be leaving us for Stanford in the Fall.

Had dinner at the home of the Italian Ambassador to the USA (Villa Firenze – 2800 Albermarle Street, N.W.) I wanted to do this since he is the new ambassador and I have over the years become variably friends with the…

Met with Minister of Health of Taiwan today to discuss potential scientific collaborations. He said that I was “famous” in Taiwan….interesting. Jean William (Bill) Pape visited from Haiti today and gave lecture at Masur…

Met with Minister of Health of India Ghulam Nabi Azad to discuss collaborations. Sharp guy – enjoyed discussion.

Went with Chris to South Lawn of the White House to celebrate her election to the Bioethics Commission. Turned out it was a massive get together on a very hot day for all Presidential appointees. They were completely…

Went to Atlanta for the day (Sunday) to give plenary at the CDC sponsored international Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Hot July day. I shared the Plenary opening evening addresses with Tom Frieden and Kevin…

Attended swearing in of Harold Varmus as the new Director of the National Cancer Institute. Starting to do a lot of press in anticipation of the International AIDS Meeting in Vienna next week. Am looking forward to this…

Leave for Vienna (Sunday) – Disaster for travel – flight cancelled on the runway, switch from direct flight to Vienna (Austrian Airlines) to United to Frankfurt connecting to Vienna. United flight sits on IAD runway for…

Memorial service for Bob Chanock, giant in virology for 50 years at NIAID. Major figure in virology research – discovered M. pneumonia; several parainfluenza viruses, his groups also discovered norovirus (Norwalk…

Dinner with Larry Corey who has just been offered and accepted President and CEO of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where he has worked for many years. Big career decision regarding his future…

Big controversy regarding the conflicting studies of the role of XMRV (xenotropic mouse leukemia virus-related virus) in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). 2 papers coming out almost simultaneously from FDA (Shy-Ching…

Finally had formal roll-out of the Medical Countermeasure (MCM) review and initiative together with PCAST Report re: 2009 pandemic flu. Roll-out was at HHS led by Secretary Sebelius. I presented the NIH component of the…

Mid-term Elections! In a strong repudiation of what some consider the over-reaching liberal policies of President Obama, the Republicans take of the House by winning 60+ seats and lick up many in the Senate. Pelosi out…

Visited Holy Cross College to deliver the Inaugural Joseph E. Murray, M.D. Distinguished Lectureship in Medicine. Joe Murray (class of ’40) had won the Nobel Prize for performing the first kidney transplant. I gave the…

Re: Discussion about Cures Acceleration Network and the President's — Medical Countermeasures Initiative (MCMI) Richard: Can you give me some background on what Ms. Avery is likely to be interested in hearing about. Is there anything I should know…

FW: Discussion about Cures Acceleration Network and the President's Medical Countermeasures Initiative (MCMI) — This is what I wrote back...I hope it strikes the right tone... R ------ Forwarded Message

World AIDS Day – Gave presentation at The White House and participated in panel led by Eric Goosby together with Chris Collins, Ada Adamora, Jennifer Cates. My thene was 1) Optimizations of Therapy; 2) Go for a cure…

Science Management Review Board (SMRB) of NIH (of which I am a member) has been and continues to discuss Francis Collins’ intention of merging NIDA and NIAAA, dissolving NCRR, as well as and more importantly creating a…

Major breakthrough in NIH prevention with the results of the PrEP study (iPrex) showing that daily Truvada to uninfected MSM decrease acquisition of HIV infection by 44% and in those who take the meds every day, it…

Major outbreak of Cholera in Haiti. Traced to contaminant of a river (used for drinking and washing in rural part of Haiti) by UN Nepalese soldier with asymptomatic cholera. I appear of Diane Rehm show discussing…

I deliver the Walter Dzau lecture at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (invited by Paul Farmer) on “30 Years of HIV/AIDS: A Personal Journey”. Overwhelming hit with prolonged applause. I spoke of my involvement from first…