NIH picks Marrazzo to replace Fauci as head of NIAID
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Key takeaways:
- The NIH has selected Healio | Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH, to lead the NIAID.
- Marrazzo replaces Anthony S. Fauci, MD, who stepped down in December.
Infectious diseases physician Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH, will be the next director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the NIH announced Wednesday.
Marrazzo is currently the director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Healio | Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member. She is expected to begin her tenure in the fall, the NIH said.
She will replace Anthony S. Fauci, MD, who stepped down as head of the NIAID in December after almost 40 years on the job, including the last several years as one of the nation’s most visible physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hugh Auchincloss, Jr., MD, has been serving as acting director since Fauci’s departure.
As head of the NIAID, Marrazzo will oversee a budget of $6.3 billion and a staff of 5,300. The institute has a broad reach that extends overseas to support research in more than 100 countries.
Marrazzo has been a principal investigator on NIH grants continuously since 1997, the NIH said. These include an ongoing trial to assess the efficacy of a meningitis vaccine to protect against gonorrhea.
Her research has focused on infections in the female reproductive tract, HIV prevention, bacterial vaginosis, STDs and antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea.
“Dr. Marrazzo brings a wealth of leadership experience from leading international clinical trials and translational research, managing a complex organizational budget that includes research funding and mentoring trainees in all stages of professional development,” NIH acting director Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS, PhD, said in a statement. “I look forward to welcoming Dr. Marrazzo to the NIH leadership team.”
In 2019, Marrazzo told us how she got “Hooked on ID.” You can read her story here.
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