Fellow physicians honor Fauci with personalized cookbook
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SEATTLE — Thirty years after he helped start the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, the medical conference helped honor Anthony S. Fauci, MD, for his work on HIV and other infectious diseases.
Fauci received a cookbook full of recipes and stories from other infectious disease physicians to mark his recent retirement as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which he led for nearly 40 years.
“We wanted to give Dr. Fauci something special to express our deep gratitude for all he has done for the HIV pandemic,” said Donna M. Jacobsen, executive director and president of the International Antiviral Society-USA.
The book contains more than 130 recipes submitted by ID professionals from around the world, many of which include personal stories and clever references to Fauci. The inspiration for the gift, Jacobson said, was an editorial about Fauci that noted he enjoys cooking, especially Italian food.
“As you turn the pages and get to work in your kitchen, we hope you find the recipes’ stories touching, and that they make you laugh out loud at least a couple of times,” Jacobsen said.
Fauci was here to deliver a speech during the opening session about the last 3 decades of HIV/AIDS research. He talked about the beginning of the conference known as CROI and highlighted progress against HIV through research that was first presented at the meeting.
Fauci noted the time that it has taken for HIV to be considered a manageable infection.
“We made a plan in 2020 that we wanted to end the [HIV/AIDS epidemic] in 2030,” Fauci said. “Even without a vaccine, it doesn’t mean you should pull back in 10 years.”
“I’m a realist, but I’m also a cautious optimist, and I really believe that we can and will beat HIV,” Fauci said.