Current:Home > MarketsFilling Fauci's shoes: Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo is HIV expert and a lot of fun at parties -InvestPioneer
Filling Fauci's shoes: Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo is HIV expert and a lot of fun at parties
View
Date:2025-04-13 22:08:13
This week, the National Institutes of Health announced who will be replacing Dr. Anthony Fauci as the head of its infectious disease organization: Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, an HIV expert who comes to the job from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Fauci served almost 40 years as the head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, and he was both loved and vilified in the role. He retired in December, after holding the post since 1984.
Marrazzo, a Harvard-educated physician and epidemiologist in her early 60s, was frequently on television news as an expert during the height of the COVID pandemic. She will be taking on a big job — running an institute with a $6.3 billion annual budget.
Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor at Emory University and president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, says Fauci and Marrazzo have a few things in common. "They're both of Italian descent, they're both HIV physicians, and they're both superb communicators," del Rio says.
But Marrazzo is truly her own person, he adds. She has striking white curls and bright blue glasses, and she delivered her coronavirus cautions in a clear, down-to-earth way, with dashes of humor. Del Rio says he counts her as a friend, and he's thrilled with the news of her NIH appointment. "I love Dr. Fauci, he's great. But at the same time, we need to get over it. The Fauci era's over, now it's the Marrazzo era," del Rio says.
Jeanne Marrazzo grew up in Pennsylvania near Scranton. She was valedictorian of her high school class and went to Harvard for undergrad, and then medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Before she took her current job – running the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham – she spent years as a professor at the University of Washington. For Jennifer Balkus, an epidemiologist with the public health department of Seattle and King County, Marrazzo was a key mentor and one of the people who judged her dissertation.
"She finds these ways to encourage and push and foster growth and development in people, but at the same time allowing them to be the person that they want and need and should be," Balkus explains. "She brings her true self to spaces, and invites people into her life."
Another friend and colleague, Sharon Hillier, an OB-GYN professor at the University of Pittsburgh, says the world of infectious diseases is particularly challenging now: "A lot of infections that used to only be found more in the tropics moving into the subtropics as climate has changed, a burgeoning epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, and global health, including HIV, but not just HIV."
Hiller says Marrazzo has a wide breadth of expertise that will serve her well when she takes up her position at NIH in the fall. "I think what's remarkable about her is not that she's known in a singular area, but that she's broadly respected in a broad range of areas," Hiller says. In addition to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, Marrazzo is an expert in infections caused by anaerobic bacteria, an expert on women's health and she became an expert on COVID, Hiller says. "She's known as an exquisite clinician. She's known as an exquisite teacher."
Hiller worries a little for her friend, noting all the attacks Fauci faced. "Nobody's going to be universally beloved," she says. And she's grateful Marrazzo is up for the challenge.
Friends describe Marrazzo as a straight shooter, a kind colleague, with a great laugh who loves going out for dinner. She's openly gay and, Balkus says, Marrazzo is a joyful and fun presence at an annual conference they both attend. "Part of the meeting culminates in a gala dance, and Jeannie is always, always on the dance floor," she says.
Marrazzo is one of three women who have recently been named to prominent roles overseeing U.S. health policy. Dr. Mandy Cohen leads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, who leads the National Cancer Institute, has been tapped to head up all of NIH, succeeding Dr. Francis Collins. But the Senate hearing on Bertagnolli is on hold, as Sen. Bernie Sanders uses it as a bargaining chip with the White House over drug prices.
Marrazzo does not require senate approval to assume her role.
veryGood! (94254)
Related
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Dr. Berne's expands eye drop recall over possible bacterial and fungal contamination
- Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida, threatens 'catastrophic storm surge': Live updates
- 'All The Things She Said': queer anthem or problematic queerbait?
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- 6 regions targeted in biggest drone attack on Russia since it sent troops to Ukraine, officials say
- Teachers go on strike in southwest Washington state over class sizes
- Federal officials tell New York City to improve its handling of migrant crisis, raise questions about local response
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Saudi Arabia reportedly sentences man to death for criticizing government on social media
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Is your ZIP code on the hottest list for 2023? Here's which cities made the top 10.
- Teachers go on strike in southwest Washington state over class sizes
- Are avocados good for you? They may be worth the up-charge.
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami face Nashville SC in MLS game: How to watch
- On Maui, a desperate plea to tourists: please return
- West Virginia University recommends keeping some language classes, moving forward with axing majors
Recommendation
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
Nebraska volleyball stadium event could draw 90,000-plus and set women’s world attendance record
Hurricane Idalia's path goes through hot waters in the Gulf of Mexico. That's concerning.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to outline remaining 2023 priorities in Democrat-controlled state
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Venus Williams suffers her most lopsided US Open loss: 6-1, 6-1 in the first round
'It's what we do': Florida manatee caught in pound net rescued, freed by Virginia Marine Police
Russia earns less from oil and spends more on war. So far, sanctions are working like a slow poison