A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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July 1, 2011 - E-mails from Gregg Gonsalves: -----Original Message-----
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July 16-22, 2011 Gave Plenary Address at the IAS Meeting in Rome on "30 Years of HIV/AIDS: A Scientific Journey and Look to the Future". I emphasized at the end that "Science should inform policy" as per my recent Science Commentary. I received a prolonged ovation from the crowd of >4000. Clearly one of my best plenary talks ever.
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Aug. 4, 2011 - During a trip to NYC to give a lecture at Columbia on "30 years of HIV/AIDS: A Personal Journey", Ian Lipkin arranged a closed pre-screening of the new movie :Contagion" at the Warner Brothers headquarters in NYC. Ian served as the technical advisor and wanted to get my take on the movie. Also at the screening were Sanjay Gupta (CCN), the dean of Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, the Commissioner of Health of NYC and other notables. The press asked me my opinion, which was that it was an excellent film that was quite accurate scientifically. I was widely quoted in blogs about this.
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August 23, 2011 - Unusual experience - 5.9 Richter Scale earthquake hit Mineral, VA with severe shaking of Building 31 such that some of my plaques fell off of the shelves. Shock was felt as far North at Cape Cod. Jenny, Ali and Denise and Jack were in NYC and they felt it. August 226, 2011 - Washington, D.C. hit by Hurricane Irene that went up the entire east coast. Much damage. We were lucky in that although many trees came down, our house and cars were spared. However, I stayed up until 4:00AM nervously looking out the window at the large oak tree in my back neighbors yard whose branches were shaking violently. Importantly, I was very concerned about the 2 giant tulip poplars that are in my front yard whose branches were also shaking wildly. Luckily we made it through the night. Storm also hit NYC where Jennifer is living. Amazing coincidence that during the same week in DC, we got an earthquake and a hurricane. Odds of that must be 1 in several million.
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2011-09-11 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
Sept. 11, 2011 - 10th Anniversary of "9/11". Much commemoration going on in NYC and DC. Of note last week on Sept. 9 went to meeting in White House EEOB 530 with Eric Goosby, Gayle Smith and David Lane, Jeff Crowley and Dana DeRuiter (White House); Lois Quam (USAID), Ariel Pablos-Mendez (USAID), Tom Frieden on the phone; Nils Daulaire and Howard Koh (DHHS) and others. Purpose of the meeting was to plan a strategy that the WH and the POTUS should take in addressing and utilizing the recent scientific advances associated with HIV prevention, particularly treatment as prevention (HPTN-052) in turning around the HIV pandemic. In essence it was a meeting to figure out how we can implement what I proposed in Rome at the IAS meeting in July, 2011. Eric Goosby and Gayle Smith want me to directly brief the POTUS on this. It remains to be seen whether this happens. Clearly, the activists want more money to go to PEPFAR for treatment and prevention. However, there are major budget constraints. The WH is afraid of demonstrations during the upcoming IAS meeting in Washington in the summer of 2012 - right before the election. They have to walk a fine line between promising more money, which will inflame the right and doing nothing, which will inflame the left. It seems that they are calling me in to help them with this. More later......
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Sept. 13 -14, 2011 - Beautiful crisp sunny day in DC. Started 09/13/11 with breakfast at the Four Seasons in Georgetown at 7:00 Am with Bill Gates. Also present from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) was Stefano Bertozzi. The theme was that Bill is reluctant to fund (with NIAID) the proposed South Africa (RSA) and Thailand vaccine trial for licensure since he thinks that the companies are charging too much money for the protein (env - made by Novartis). In addition, he does not think that the results will lead to a marketable product. However, we need the private sector or else we will never get a vaccine made for HIV. The quid pro quo for us is that if we go with a regulatory (licensure) trial in RSA and Thailand, the companies (Sanofi-Pasteur and Novartis) will work with us on a research trial of comparing several products in RSA, which is what we really want. I convinced Bill that this was a necessary evil and that although it was an imperfect situation, it is still the only deal around since the product - Pox Vector + Protein boost was the one that gave the only positive result in a vaccine trial to this point (RV144 - conducted in Thailand 2 years ago). In addition, there are some possible correlates of immunity associated with RV144. We ended the breakfast with a mutual commitment to work together on this. Also, Bill had some interesting a bit "off the wall" ideas about making a universal virus vector into which you can insert genes of important neutralizing antibodies for different microbes that can be an instantaneous antibody factory for bioterror organisms as well as for HIV, merely by changing the insert. Also, Bill does not believe in treatment as prevention from a practical or logistic point of view. Went on to participate in a 2 day meeting run by the George W. Bush Presidential Center - "The Summit to Save Lives" held at the Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue, N.W. I was on the panel to discuss the leveraging of PEPFAR resources and infrastructure to do screening and treatment of cervical cancer in Africa and Latin America. I studied up on HVP and cervical cancer and we the "scientific expert" on the panel that included Eric Goosby (PEPFAR), Grosbeck Parham (C0-Director of Cervical Cancer Prevention program, Zambia), Dr. Beatrice Wiaffe Addai - president of Breast Care International. Panel Chaired by Jennifer Griffin, National Security Correspondence, FOX News. I was very well received by the audience that was filled with the elite of Global Health. President George W. Bush mostly presided over and attended the entire meeting. When he heard in a subsequent talk Michel Sidibe (UNAIDS) mention my name as the person who is pushing treatment as prevention, the POTUS turned around and said "Is Fauci here? I want to talk to Fauci". He had come in after my Panel. After his talk when he was leaving for the afternoon for the dinner (see below), Josh Bolten rushed my to him and he turned around, gave me a big hug and asked how I was doing. In typical fashion, he jokingly asked if I was still employed He gave a speech as did Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Brinker (Susan G. Kamen for the Cure), Michel Sidibe (where he mentioned me). That night we had a dinner at the home of Lea and Wayne Berman at 3055 Whitehaven Street, N.W. Very festive and met many of friends. Sat with Gary Edson and Lois Quam at dinner. Took picture with the POTUS and Laura and Nancy Brinker. As we were lining up for the photo, the GWB put his arm around me and I said that he looked so rested and relaxed that it was great to see him this way. He responded with a laugh: "So are you saying that I looked like shit when I was President?" Following day (09/14/11) Condi Rice gave a great speech and I had a nice chat with her afterwards. She praised me for continuing to do "such great work for our country and the world". All in all, a great 2 days.
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Sept. 22, 2011 --I received the C. Everett Koop AIDS Public Health Leadership Award at the Dirksen Senate Building. Presented to me by Chick Koop and Rep. Henry Waxman. Extraordinary ceremony that was a "Tribute to Dr. Fauci". I was somewhat embarrassed in that so many people said some many flattering things about me at the symposium (where I gave the Keynote) and at the reception thereafter held at the Capitol Visitors Center. Secretary Sebelius and Deputy Secretary Bill Corr came to the reception and praised me as did several IC Directors (Nora Volkow, Griff Rogers, Susan Shurin); also Jean-Francois Delfraissy (Head of INRS) flew in from Paris to honor me.
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Sept. 23, 2011 -- Took Amtrak to NYC for the Lasker Awards since the NIH Clinical Center won the Bloomberg-Lasker Public Service Award. I got caught in a downpour without any taxis in sight and so had to run to Penn Station in the rain (40 blocks) to catch the train back to DC.
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Sept. 24, 2011 -- Went to 95 Birthday Party for Chick Koop at the Koshland Museum of the NAS. I gave a laudation. Chick had insisted that I be there to give the laudation. Of note, I did the same thing at his 80, 85, and 90% birthdays.