Monday, October 6, 2008

Big news today. Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology given to Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for HIV and to Harald Zur Hausen for HPV discovery.. This is a big slight to Gallo, likely because of the controversy from the 1980s. The Committee could have given the 3 (limit) to HIV and save HPV for another year; yet they combined them and thus Gallo was out since it is clear from the 1983 Science paper that Montagnier and Barre-Sinoussi discovered the virus first, although Gallo proved cause effect one year later and discovered TCGF (IL-2) that allowed everyone to grow T cells in culture and hence grow the virus. Gave the after dinner address at the Woodrow Wilson Internal Center for Scholars Dinner for their Board of Trustees, Councilors, and Scholars at the Ronald Reagan Building in DC. Cool, crisp night. I was invited by Lee Hamilton. Many notable people there including Sam and Jan Donaldson, Marvin Kalb, Robin Cook, etc. I spoke on HIV/AIDS: An Historical Perspective. Talk extremely well received. Oct. 11 – 16, 2008 – Traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to deliver a keynote address at the 2008 AIDS Vaccine Meeting on “An HIV Vaccine: Science and Policy”. The talk was very well received. I spoke of the particular challenges of HIV vaccinology compared with “classical” vaccinology. Weather was beautiful and the city was in my mind a cross between San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro. We took a drive on Monday AM, Oct. 13 around the countryside to vineyards and around the historical parts of the city. Most disturbing to me was the conditions that I saw at the “townships” a few miles outside of the city. Particularly disturbing was Khayelitsha township that seemed to go on for miles with huts that were made of corrugated tin roofs and plywood and other soft material. The huts were smack next to each other with very little room between them to even walk outside. Apparently they have electricity in some huts and common water sources and latrines, but I cannot imagine anyone living there. The black South Africans say that it is not as bad as it looks and they are gradually trying to phase them out and replace them with regular housing. I cannot judge since this is the first time that I have seen them, but I would flatten the whole thing now and build high-rises. Problem is that hundreds of thousands of people live there and you cannot just displace them now without a facility to put them in. I have some concern at this point that the Vaccine Enterprise in the person of Allan Bernstein is looking for ways to change the direction of HIV vaccine research even though he has been in the field only for months. He is a very good guy, but I repeat my usual statement of “everybody wants to be somebody” and “beware of people who do not Anthony Fauci On the art of persuasion. There's more than one way to get to the goal that you want to get to, but once you compromise your own principles, then you're lost. You're really lost. You just can't do that, even if it means that people are going to be disappointed in you and you might not find yourself in the inner circle. Every time I go to a meeting in the [White House's] Roosevelt Room or the Oval Office or in the chambers of Congress, I keep in my mind that I may have to say something that will disappoint people, and if that disappointment leads to my not getting asked back, so be it. On being principled without destroying relationships. You maintain a respect for the other person, and you reflect that in how you deal with that person—although you may disagree with them, you respect them and their right to have their view. I've had discussions with people who somehow just didn't get it. You never walk away in frustration. Some people feel, you make your case, if they listen to you, fine, if they don't, that's it. That's not what leadership is. Leadership is trying to continue to make a case. • Click here for more of America's Best Leaders • Click here for more on Anthony Fauci America's Best Leaders 2008 David Gergen: Obama Is a Leader of Great Potential, but He Can’t Do It Alone This year’s Best Leaders are the kind of people who can help him lead us out of our doldrums. Lance Armstrong Cyclist and Advocate Making tireless efforts on behalf of cancer survivors like himself. David Baltimore California Institute of Technology This Nobel-winning scientist leads with "a little bit of chutzpah." Regina Benjamin Le Batre Rural Health Clinic She believes that living in a tiny rural town shouldn't mean giving up big-city healthcare. Jeff Bezos Amazon.com The founder of the massive online retailer is a true Internet pioneer. Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock Thelonious Monk Institute Their Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz brings music education to public schools. Benjamin Carson Johns Hopkins Hospital A talented pediatric neurosurgeon and activist for inner-city kids. Manny Diaz Mayor of Miami A son of Cuban immigrants, Diaz leads one of the nation's major multicultural cities. Marian Wright Edelman Children's Defense Fund A civil rights pioneer and crusader on behalf of children. Anthony Fauci National Institute of Allergies & Infectious Diseases A leader on HIV/AIDS and a straight talker on key health issues. Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin Knowledge Is Power Program Raising educational expectations in underserved communities. Opinion The Financial Crisis Kills Trust in Leaders Bill George: We must do more than fix the crisis; we need to fix the mindset that got us into it. Obama and American Followership Barbara Kellerman: At this moment in history, diffusion of power overwhelms leadership. Robert Gates Secretary of Defense Pentagon chief looks for uses of "soft power" in a hard power world. Fiona Harrison and Maria Zuber NASA scientists The first two women to head their own NASA robotic space missions. Freeman Hrabowski University of Maryland-Baltimore County He helped turn a no-name commuter college into a center for math and science. Amory Lovins Rocky Mountain Institute For this bright light in the field of alternative energy, it's all about efficiency. Anne Mulcahy Xerox In reforming a troubled company, she had the courage to say "No" to Wall Street. Indra Nooyi PepsiCo Karaoke-singing chief executive is taking Pepsi in an unlikely direction--toward healthful foods. Linda Rottenberg Endeavor Her nonprofit seeks to build profitable small businesses on a global scale. Jeffrey Sachs United Nations Millennium Project An academic who looks for real-world ways to beat global poverty. Steven Spielberg Filmmaker He addresses important issues on the big screen and through his philanthropy. Michael Tilson Thomas San Francisco Symphony A maverick maestro is winning big crowds of new classical music fans. U.S. Junior Officers Military They are rising in the military ranks with a hard-earned wisdom forged by war. A New Leadership Style For America Joseph S. Nye Jr.: It's time to retire the "big man," heroic warrior model of leadership. Lance Armstrong: Beatrice De Gea/ The New York Times/Redux; David Baltimore: Manjunath Kiran/EPA/Corbis; Regina Benjamin: Charlie Archambault for USN≀ Jeff Bezos: Brian Smale/Redux; Terence Blanchard: David Butow/Redux for USN≀ Benjamin Carson: Gurinder Osan/AP; Manny Diaz: Paul Sancya/AP; Marian Wright Edelman: Jeffrey MacMillan for USN≀ Anthony Fauci: Charlie Archambault for USN≀ Mike Feinberg: Kevin Horan/Aurora for USN≀ Robert Gates: Jeffrey MacMillan for USN≀ Herbie Hancock: David Butow/Redux for USN≀ Fiona Harrison: David Butow--Redux for USN≀ Freeman Hrabowski: Jeffrey MacMillan for USN≀ Indra Nooyi: Neville Elder/Corbis; Dave Levin: Jim Lo Scalzo for USN≀ Amory Lovins: Ben Stechschulte/Redux; Anne Mulcahy: Ben Baker/Redux; Linda Rottenberg: Peter Dejong/AP; Jeffrey Sachs: Chip East/Reuters; Steven Spielberg: Steven Henry/Getty Images; Michael Tilson Thomas: Chris Gordon/Getty Images; U.S. junior officers serving in war zones: Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Maria Zuber: Bill Ingalls/NASA