2013

A lot of influenza activity exploding throughout the country with H3N2 that matches the vaccine. Early start and big spike with widespread activity throughout the country. Appeared on Fox Local News this evening.

Interesting telephone call with Paul Stoffels today. Paul is CEO of Johnson and Johnson that owns Janssen Pharmacueticals as well as Crucell. He is excited about the Dan Barouch HIV candidate using Adenovirus 26/35 +…

Flu activity accelerating. Appearing on WUSA – Channel 9 today. Also, appeared this evening on Wolf Blitzer “Situation Room” regarding the flu epidemic. Went very well This evening meeting of the P5 vaccine consortium…

Appeared on C-SPAN (TV) and on WTOP radio early this AM to talk about the erupting influenza epidemic.

Did CNN Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer regarding the Flu outbreak. I made casual statement in response to a question by Wolf that the outbreak had passed the epidemic threshold (which was true (7.3% with threshold at…

Did WJLA – Channel 8 news on flu on this Saturday AM. Also, received request that Soledad O’Brien wants me again on her show on Monday AM. This will be the test regarding my above comment concerning Bill Hall.

HHS turned me down on requests from CNN Wolf Blitzer and Soledad O’Brien. I asked John Burklow to call up Bill Hall and find out what the heck is going on and what the reason for all of this is. John told me that CDC…

Appeared on the “Situation Room” (CNN) in a piece that featured the quest for a universal flu vaccine. I did the interview from the NIAID Vaccine Research Center. John Mascola also appeared as we showed the CNN crew…

Did a very successful 1 hour show with call-in on WTOP at 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Rainy day in Washington, D.C. Also, local NBC News and WUSA Channel 29 filmed me during the radio show and I gave on camera interview to them…

The “60 day moratorium” on gain-of-function research on respiratory transmission of HPAI H5N1 influenza in mammals has been lifted by the scientists who originally signed to moratorium. The moratorium actually lasted…

Appeared on CNN “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer to discuss the ongoing breakout of norovirus in the USA. Good interview. There are about 20 million cases of norovirus in the USA each year with 70,000…

Super Bowl night. Ravens beat 49ers 34-31. Nonetheless spent the evening at a dinner and panel discussion at the Fairmont Hotel (24th and M Street, N.W.), Colonnade Room. Occasion was a pre-Summit dinner for the Global…

Valentine’s Day. Very interesting and enjoyable evening. Chris and I were invited by Wayne and Catherine Reynolds to a dinner in the Adams Room of the Hay Adams Hotel to honor Ehud Barak, Defense Minister and former…

Still no solution to the impending sequestration deadline of March 1, which will result in across-the-board cuts to Pentagon and discretionary spending (including NIH). The POTUS is doing some severe posturing that this…

Sequester kicked in and so spending cuts are in effect. Incredible posturing on part of GOP as well as the POTUS who is stating that the “world will come to an end” and the GOP is to blame since they refuse to raise…

The media interest in the “cured” baby has been as intense or more than anything I have experienced here at NIH. Yesterday I did WUSA 9 nightly news and today I did: CBS Morning News with Charlie Rose and Nora…

Media frenzy continues. I have now gone over the data from the Hannah Gay and Persaud presentation at CROI and I have some doubts that the child was ever truly infected in the first place. Tough to really tell whether…

When it rains, it pours. CDC came out with a “Vital Signs” alert out of MMWR about the growing threat of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriacea (CRE), which includes Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenem-resistant (KPC) that…

CRE media with Diane Rehm Show, Briefed Laura Friedel of Senate Minority Staff at Appropriations (Staffer to Ron Moran)

Guest on Geraldo Rivera Show for “cure” baby; CNN tape for tomorrow on CRE; the Washington Post “The Fold” (online TV) on HIV.

Flew to Boston for the day to give Keynote Lecture at the dedication of the new building for the Ragon Institute of MGH, Harvard, and MIT. Held at 400 Technology Square in Cambridge, MA. Orchestrated by Bruce Walker who…

Did nice interview at Biocentury (WUSA – Channel 29) on the Sequestration. That evening went to Research America Gala at Mellon Auditorium on 13th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. I sat at the Duke University Table…

Have received indications from Judith Shamir (Exec Sec of IOM) the Alan Leschner, Chair of IOM President Search Committee is very interested in my submitting my application for the job. I told her that I was not…

Met with Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD) in Building 1 together with Francis Collins, Griff Rogers, Gary Gibbons. Harris is a Tea Party person who is second rank on House Appropriations Subcommittee behind Chairman…

Went to Princeton to deliver the Gilbert Omenn Lecture at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Spoke on “Ending the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: From Scientific Advances to Public Health Implementation”…

Terrorists identified by surveillance cameras. Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Two Muslim brothers born in Chechnya. Older one recently spent about 6 months in Chechnya, likely getting trained in terrorism. Most…

Informed by Francis Collins that he spoke with Bill Corr (Deputy HHS Secretary) about the issue of my being muzzled, almost certainly because Tom Frieden and the CDC want the spotlight on the H7N9 story. Corr agrees…

Cases of H7N9 continue to accumulate. First case in Taiwan. HHS is now clearing me for press (see above); however, there have not been any requests from major network and so still not clear what will happen. I have…

Went to reception at the home of Sen. Jay and Sharon Rockefeller to celebrate 10 years of service and retirement of Amy Lawson as CEO of DC Prep (where Jenny taught). Amazing home – 2121 Park Road, N.W. Had chance to…

Had important discussion with Eric Goosy by phone about whether we (NIH and PEPFAR) should fund the Africa START study proposed by Wafaa El Sadr and Kevin DeCock. Eric is skeptical about doing this since he feels that…

Went with Chris to White House Correspondence Garden Brunch at Beall-Washington House on 2920 R Street, N.W. Tammy Haddad as usual MC’d it. Sponsored by CURE Epilepsy and the Miss America Foundation. Great party…

Went to dinner at Matisse Restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue and Fessenden Avenue, N.W. I took out Richard (Rick) Atkinson to dinner to get his advice on writing my book (autobiography). He was extremely helpful on how to…

Attended the “Heroes of Military Medicine Awards at the Mellon Auditorium on 13th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. I was present because Lt. Col. Nelson Michael (my old friend) was receiving one of the awards and I…

H7N9 still smoldering, but with the closing of some of the open bird markets in China, the pace of new cases has slowed. 130 cases and 31 deaths total. HHS is now allowing me to do press on this without hassle. Francis…

Went to the Capitol with Francis Collins to meet with the House Majority Whip – Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Kevin is very interested in the problem of Valley Fever (Coccicioidomycosis) in his district of…

Appeared on NPR Morning Edition radio with Richard Knox regarding H7N9 flu. Also, gave Opening Keynote Address at the Annual Meeting of the HPTN/IMPAACT Networks held at Marriott Wardman Hotel on Calvert Street, N.W…

Had Congressional visit here at NIH in the Clinical Center medical Board Room on 4th Floor of Building10. Delegation led by Eric Cantor (R-VA). Also present were Congressmen Andy Harris (R-MD), Elliot Engel (D-NY), Ted…

Slow down of activity on H7N9; uptick of activity with MERS Corona virus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). I appeared today on WTOP and BBC television discussing MERS CoV.

Testified at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing for NIH today. Testified with Francis Collins, Harold Varmus, Story Landis, Richard Hodes and Gary Gibbons. Friendly Hearing. Asked me questions about DURC…

Interesting dinner with my friends Catherine and Wayne Reynolds at Adour Restaurant at the St. Regis Hotel on 16th and K Streets, N.W. Other guests were John Rogers who was Assistant to the President during the Reagan…

Ali’s II Eight boat came in 2nd in the Petit Final and 8th overall in the tournament – Great job, Ali! Ali ultimately makes 1st Team All-Pac-12 Academic All- American (for second year in a row). She has the highest…

Press interest continues regarding MERS-CoV. Was on daytime CNN today plus lately other TV media “feeds” such as AP, VOA, Reuters. David Morens, Jeff Taubenberger and I just got Commentary accepted in NEJM on H7N9 – to…

Had dinner at Matisse with Bob Bazell, 38 year TV medical reporter for NBC. He is leaving NBC to join Yale Faculty. He is a trained microbiologist before working for NBC. He must have interviewed me hundreds of times…

See e-mail below from to me and my forward note to Chris, my children and Denise. It describes my role as physician at NIH in the pre-AIDS days. Important historical perspective. -----Original Message----- From: Fauci…

Had dinner with the Heads of International Research organizations (HIRO) at the Hyatt Bethesda Hotel. Francis Collins is the Chair this year and so they meet in the USA. Francis asked me to be the after dinner speaker…

Met with Tim Hallett (of the UK’s London School of Tropical Health and Hygiene) and Eric Goosby in Eric’s office to discuss Tim’s mathematical model for concentrating PEPFAR’s efforts on “Hot Zones” of infection within…

Please see hyperlink to historical AIDS posters from ACT-UP: http://huff.to/10fto8L

Met with Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in Building 10, Room 5-1608 to discuss the exciting things in research such as universal flu vaccine. Also there was Francis Collins, Story Landis and Gary…

Good Day. Went to the 10th Year Anniversary Celebration of PEPFAR at the Dean Acheson Auditorium in the State Department. Sen. Kerry presided and in his introduction called me out very generously. Below is the text of…

Underwent review of my performance as NIAID Director over past 3 years since my last review in 2007. Reviewers were Laurie Glimcher, Adel Mahmoud, Dennis Kasper, and Diane Griffin. Went extremely well. Also, Secretary…

Met with a delegation from the country of Georgia. I had previously met 2X over the years with the First Lady of Georgia. Today met with the Minister of Health and the Georgian Ambassador to the USA. Good meeting.

Had removal of parathyroid adenoma at GW Hospital by Dr. Stanley Knoll. Went very well and was back at work 2 days later. Very little pain. Aug. 6 – 8, 2013 - Papers came out in Science, Nature, BMJ, etc. that generated…

Had long talk at home over phone on Saturday (today) with Mike Gerson who will write a Washington Post column on the successful malaria vaccine trial that we conducted at the Clinical Center (paper published in Science…

Taped a tribute to Ted Kennedy and Vicki Reggi Kennedy for a Susan Komen event honoring them that will take place at the Kennedy Center in September.

Met with Deputy Minister for Health of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia – Dr. Ziad Memish. He is visiting with regard to establishing scientific collaborations with NIH and CDC on the MERS-CoV. He has admired me for years…

Nice piece on me and my “Leadership” in the ONLINE version of the Washington Post. Will also appear in print version soon.

Went to an “A-List” party at the home of Jane and Calvin Cafritz on R and 29th Street, N.W. Usual glitterati there with Senators (Markey), Generals (Casey) many ambassadors. Very enjoyable night. During the evening…

Went to Rooftop Recption dinner hosted by the Friends of the National Library of Medicine at 101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. with a breath-taking view of the Capitol. I gave laudation/award to Ray Schinazi for his…

Gave Great Teacher’s Lecture at the Masur Auditorium in the Clinical Center as part of celebration of 60th Anniversary of the NIH Clinical Center. Spoke of Ending the AIDS Pandemic; however spent first part of talk on…

I called an important Summit that took place at Bethesda North Marriott. Purpose was to discuss the advisability of using Adenovirus vectors for HIv vaccines given the failures of Ad5 vectors in 3 vaccine trials, but…

Went to Lasker Lunch at the Pierre Hotel in NYC. Beautiful Fall Day. Bill and Melinda Gates won the Bloomberg-Lasker Award for Public Service that I had won a few years ago. Nice event. Bill and I discussed briefly the…

Went to Friends of Cancer Research Awards reception on the roof of the Hay-Adams hotel. Beautiful Indian Summer nuight and spectacular view of White House. Invited by Ellen Sigal. She seated me in first row of award…

Had great typical dinner with Wayne and Catherine Reynolds at the Jefferson Hotel. Intimate setting with about 20 people at dinner – Rick Atkinson and wife Jane (Rick is strongly encouraging me to get going in writing…

Government shut down. NIH begins to furlough 70+% of our work force.

I obviously did not leave for Spain. Was scheduled to leave on Oct. 5 to arrive on Oct. 6. My video was played on this evening. I put an extraordinary amount of time over the previous 5 weeks preparing this talk and it…

Bill Gates was supposed to deliver the Barnes Lecture and tour the NIH yesterday, but it was cancelled because of USG shutdown. Francis Collins, Harold Varmus and I went to the Gates office in DC at 1300 I Street, N.W…

Government still shut down. POTUS refuses to negotiate under threat of shut-down and debt ceiling debate. House GOP (Speaker Boehner) refusing to let vote go to floor to open USG and raise debt ceiling since the…

Still shut down. Senate agrees on Bill to open USG and raise debt ceiling. Waiting on House and Boehner. Went to dinner at Villa Firenze (home of Italian Ambassador to the USA, Claudio Bisogniero) at 2800 Albermarle…

USG opens and debt ceiling raised temporarily until Jan. Likely a similar battle will occur in January.

Terrific meeting today. Paul Stoffels, Chief Scientific Officer of Janssen research Foundation, part of Johnson & Johnson called me months ago asking to have a meeting since he wanted to support and develop the Ad26…

Went to reception and showing of a movie by famed young Indian actor, director, producer Aamir Khan at Jefferson Hotel at invitation of Catherine and Wayne Reynolds. Film was on female fetocide in Indian culture. Quite…

Appeared via teleconference at a NY State AIDS Institute Conference in NYC organized by Mark Harrington and TAG. They wanted my input on how we can truly put an end to the AIDS epidemic in NY State. Mark Dybul phoned in…

Been in press over past few days regarding recent papers in Science and other journals on the HIV envelope resolution by cryo-EM by Ian Wilson, Dennis Burton, John Moore. Also on WTOP today regarding polio in Syria.

Went to San Francisco for day – flew in the AM, gave Keynote at the Lancet/Cell Conference on “Achieving an AIDS-Free World”. My talk was widely quoted and praised for its comprehensive analysis of the opportunity and…

Yesterday I appeared on Local TV Station WUSA – Channel 9 News at 7:00 PM to discuss the recent outbreak of meningococcal meningitis at Princeton University. Since March, 2012 that have been a total of seven cases of…

This was one of the most magical evenings that I have had in Washington in the 40 years that I have been here. I was invited with Christine to go to a Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the conferring of the…

Funding of PEPFAR and Replenishment of Global Fund to Fight Aid TB and Malaria (GFATM) – Over the past several days there has been considerable activity about the issue facing the funding of PEPFAR for 2015. The…

We here at NIH have been working on the schedule for the visit of Bill Gates to the NIH on December 2, 2013. There was considerable concern that this might conflict with the annual World AIDS Day celebration at the…

Monday and cold cloudy day is DC. Celebration of World AIDS Day (WAD) today since December 1 was a Sunday. Also, Bill Gates visited NIH to deliver Barnes Lecture and to be shown around NIH: Gates – Francis Collins, I…

Hectic but very good day. Started early in AM and went to Reserve Officers Association at one Constitution Avenue, N.E. for a Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, TB, and Malaria had a breakfast. Multiple speeches…

Meningococcal meningitis breakout among a few students at Princeton and then at UC Santa Barbara. Was on WTOP radio today to discuss. Was Group B for which we do not have an FDA approved vaccine for in the USA. Used in…

Had quick trip to NYC on Saturday for Editorial Board meeting of HPIM. Big issue is the decreased sales of the printed book, particularly domestically. Reason clearly is that students and others are not using print…

Grant Colfax, the White House AIDS person and Directors of the Office of Nation AIDS Policy (ONAP) called me to give me heads-up that he was stepping down. Interesting since he has been on the job for only 1.5 years…

Influenza season starting to spike with predominance of 2009 H1N1. Interesting that ever since 2009, the 2009 H1N1 has bumped H3N2 off as the major strain that circulates during seasonal flu. I appeared on CNN “The…

Jan. 8, 2014 - Children home for the holidays. Unusual to have all 3 together, particularly since Ali has been at Stanford. Influenza activity (mostly H1N1) starting to crank up. Have been on WTOP radio and Al Jazeera…