Dr. Robert Gaynes, distinguished physician and professor of infectious diseases at Emory University, joins Meet the Microbiologist for the 2nd episode in a unique 3-part series, in which we share the impact of scientists at the heart of various paradigm shifts throughout scientific history. Here we discuss the life and career of Tony Fauci, the scientist who has been recognized as America’s Top Infectious Diseases Doctor and “voice of science” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ashley's Biggest Takeaways

• Fauci was born in Brooklyn, New York.
• He was a 2nd generation American whose parents came from Italy.
• Fauci’s father was a pharmacist in Brooklyn and was very influential in his life.
• During high school, Fauci worked behind the counter at the family pharmacy and even delivered prescriptions by bicycle.
• He attended a Jesuit high school in Manhattan, and attended the College of Holy Cross.
• After college, Fauci attended Cornell Medical School in Manhattan, which was his first choice of medical school.
• Fauci graduated first in his class in medical school in the mid 1960’s, right in the midst of the Vietnam War.
• During that time, after completing their initial residency training, virtually all doctors were drafted into one of the military services or the U.S. Public Health Service.
• Fauci accepted into the NIH program within the U.S. Public Health Service, where he acquired training and a fellowship in Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
• Fauci became the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) in 1984.
• Fauci served as advisor to 7 U.S. presidents, including Ronald Regan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
• 15 years after the creation of PEPFAR, Fauci reported, in the New England Journal of Medicine, that PEPFAR funded programs had provided antiretroviral therapy to 13.3 M people, averted 2.2 M perinatal HIV infections and provided care for more than 6.4 M orphans and vulnerable children.

The first edition of "Germ Theory: Medical Pioneers in Infectious Diseases" is available now. The 2nd edition will publish in the spring of 2023.