IDSA announces courage award honoring Fauci
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WASHINGTON — The Infectious Diseases Society of America on Friday announced the creation of an award honoring National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD.
The Anthony Fauci Award will be given for the first time in 2023 as one of the IDSA Society Awards, the IDSA said. A call for submissions will be posted on the IDSA website.
The award “will be given to an IDSA member who exemplifies the values and attributes that Dr. Fauci has exhibited throughout his career — courage in leadership in speaking scientific truth, perseverance in the face of opposition and serving as a change agent for health care and patients around the world,” the IDSA told Healio.
Outgoing IDSA President Daniel P. McQuillen, MD, FIDSA, announced the creation of the award during a tribute to Fauci at IDWeek that was followed by a question-and-answer session between the two physicians, during which Fauci said the advancements he would most like to see in ID include control over HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
Fauci will step down as head of the NIAID in December after nearly 40 years in the position. Asked what had not been accomplished during his tenure, Fauci said, “I would have hoped to have a vaccine for HIV.”
In a video interview with Healio at IDWeek, incoming IDSA president Carlos del Rio, MD, an Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member, described several top priorities on the IDSA’s agenda, including bolstering the historically underserved ID workforce.
McQuillen asked Fauci for advice on recruiting physicians to ID.
“Tell people what we do,” Fauci replied. “History has shown why we are so important. I cannot imagine anything more exciting than what we do. Obviously, I’m prejudiced because this is what I do, but in reality, if you want to be objective about it, what more excitement would you want to be in than what’s going on right now, because our discipline has the attention of the entire planet.”
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Special tribute to Dr. Fauci. Presented at: IDWeek; Oct. 19-23, 2022; Washington (hybrid meeting).
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