--- title: Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Stepping Down From Public-Health Posts description: Dr. Fauci will step down as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, but says he will not retire. canonical: https://time.com/6207722/anthony-fauci-steps-down/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-08-22T17:40:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T14:38:58.744Z article:section: Health og:title: Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Stepping Down From His Public-Health Posts og:description: But he says he will not retire og:url: https://time.com/6207722/anthony-fauci-steps-down/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdba8f55d3079f7eb/698a34cfb21a9c2b2c506563/anthony-fauci.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: anthony-fauci og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Stepping Down From His Public-Health Posts twitter:description: But he says he will not retire twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdba8f55d3079f7eb/698a34cfb21a9c2b2c506563/anthony-fauci.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Stepping Down From His Public-Health Posts > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 22, 2022 5:40 PM UTC  Dr. Anthony Fauci on Dec 4 2020. Dr. Anthony Fauci on Dec 4 2020. Jody Rogac for TIME  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 22, 2022 5:40 PM UTC Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease official, will step down from heading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in December, he said in a [statement](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/statement-anthony-s-fauci-md) released on Aug. 22\. Fauci, 81, said he would also leave his role as chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden. But Fauci, who has served as NIAID director since 1984—under seven presidents—said he is not retiring. “I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field,” he said. Fauci first made his mark on public health through his work fighting HIV/AIDS. He has turned down several offers to head the National Institutes of Health (NIH), explaining each time his desire to remain at NIAID—which is part of the NIH—until he felt more progress had been made in conquering HIV/AIDS. During his time at NIAID, HIV has changed from a death sentence into a chronic disease, thanks in part to his efforts in collaborating with AIDS activists and [charting new paths](https://time.com/5960529/anthony-fauci-profile/) for testing and approving anti-HIV drugs. Fauci was also instrumental in ensuring that HIV therapies reached underserved parts of the world that needed the drugs most by contributing to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) under President George Bush. **Read More**: [_Anthony Fauci Is Finally Getting to Do His Job_](https://time.com/5960529/anthony-fauci-profile/) The drug pathways he pioneered for HIV helped to speed up trials of new COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral therapies during the pandemic. But Fauci has also faced politically motivated ire for his work. President Donald Trump—who actively [undermined the scientific process](https://time.com/5835244/accidental-poisonings-trump/), [attacked Fauci’s expertise](https://time.com/5960529/anthony-fauci-profile/) and character, and [flirted with firing him at the behest of his supporters](https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/02/trump-threatens-to-fire-fauci-after-the-election/)—made him a target within months of the pandemic starting in 2020\. Since then, Fauci has endured death threats against him and his family and has used something he never had before: personal security. Yet Fauci endured, saying he never thought of leaving his role advising the government on COVID-19\. For a public-facing infectious disease expert who’s devoted his life to public health, “if there is one challenge in your life you cannot walk away from, it is that most impactful pandemic in the last 102 years,” he [told ](https://time.com/5960529/anthony-fauci-profile/)TIME in 2021. In a [statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/22/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-announcement-of-dr-anthony-faucis-departure-from-niaid/), Biden highlighted Fauci’s dedication and breadth of knowledge of infectious diseases. “I’ve been able to call him at any hour of the day for his advice as we’ve tackled this once-in-a-generation pandemic,” Biden said. “The United States of America is stronger, more resilient, and healthier because of him.” Fauci didn’t specify how he would continue his work in public health, but said he’s focused on the nation’s future. “I want to use what I have learned as NIAID Director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6207722/anthony-fauci-steps-down/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6207722/anthony-fauci-steps-down/"},"headline":"Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Stepping Down From His Public-Health Posts","datePublished":"2022-08-22T17:40:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T14:38:58.744Z","description":"Dr. Fauci will step down as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, but says he will not retire.","url":"https://time.com/6207722/anthony-fauci-steps-down/","keywords":["COVID-19","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdba8f55d3079f7eb/698a34cfb21a9c2b2c506563/anthony-fauci.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdba8f55d3079f7eb/698a34cfb21a9c2b2c506563/anthony-fauci.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"anthony-fauci","caption":"Dr. Anthony Fauci photographed at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda, MD on Dec 4 2020.","creditText":"Jody Rogac for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6207722/anthony-fauci-steps-down/","name":"Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Stepping Down From His Public-Health Posts"}}]}] ```