NIAID Head Fauci Wins Top U.S. Biomedical Award
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci yesterday was awarded the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the nation's top medical award, for his work with HIV/AIDS, bioterrorist agents and other infectious diseases, the Albany Times Union reports (Hughes, Albany Times Union, 3/28). Fauci, who has directed NIAID since 1984, has worked with AIDS since 1981, focusing specifically on the body's immunologic response to the virus. A 1993 study conducted by Fauci's team that showed that HIV "constantly" replicates in the lymph nodes even early on in the infection process was one of the most-cited papers in HIV/AIDS research from 1993 to 1995 (Altman,
New York Times, 3/28). Fauci said yesterday that he does not know how he will use the $500,000 award, but that he does not plan to stop working with HIV "until we have a vaccine," which he said is "within reach," although not within the next few years (Albany Times Union, 3/28). Fauci, who was also honored for his overall work at NIAID and his work with bioterrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, is the second recipient of the Albany award, which is the
second-largest in the world behind the Nobel Prize and was created in 2000 with a $50 million grant by New York City philanthropist Morris Silverman. Dr. Arnold Levine, a cancer researcher, received the first award (Hajela,
Newsday, 3/27).
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