Fauci to be succeeded by first openly LGBTQ director of NIAID
Doctor Jeanne Marrazzo has been named director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the role when her tenure begins this fall.
Marrazzo currently leads the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, where her research interests included HIV and STIs.
The university, in a press release announcing her appointment to the agency, called her “a trusted advisor and friend who gave us the insights, guidance and confidence that allowed our institution to thrive in spite of immense challenges” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “As NIAID director, Jeanne will oversee NIAID’s budget of $6.3 billion supporting research to advance the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of infectious, immunologic and allergic diseases,” said UAB in the press release. “The NIAID research response to outbreaks of infectious diseases, from HIV to Ebola to COVID-19, has led to new therapies, vaccines, diagnostic tests and other technologies,” UAB noted. “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.
