A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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April 18, 2012 - Went to Palo Alto to give the Thomas C. Merigan Lecture at Stanford. Great day. Lectured on "Ending the AIDS Pandemic" and had several long Qs and As sessions with students, fellows and faculty. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Got me out of the craziness of the Washington scene with H5N1 (see below). Of note, Stan Falkow wrote me a terrific note of how amazing I was with the fellows and students. It was important coming from him since he had been one of the people who were against me 10 years ago when we began the $1.5 billion biodefense program. He wrote me an e-mail after the Merigan Lecture and said that he knew that I loved my job as NIAID Director, but I am truly a great "professor" and teacher in the classic sense. Several students and faculty told me it was the best lecture that they had ever heard there and the best interaction with students/faculty. Also, had dinner with Ali the night before at "Cuccina Italiana" in Palo Alto. It was great seeing her. She is amazing - getting great grades in Computer Science and rowing stroke on the II Varsity 8 boat. She is a walk on to the Stanford nationally ranked Division I crew team and last year started on the Varsity 4 and now she is stroke on the II Varsity 8. Last year and this year she was given a $24,000 athletic scholarship.
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Apr. 25, 2012 - Went down to Hart Building to brief Sens. Harken and Roger Wicker in preparation for their trip to Africa (South Africa and Namibia) where they will visit CDC and NIH-funded sites. Also briefing them were Julia Martin of PEPFAR (Eric's Deputy) and Debbie Birx from CDC. This is mostly a boondoggle for the Senators.
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Apr. 26, 2012 - The heat is still on and the focus high (in some circles) regarding the H5N1 issue. I testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee today. Chair - Joe Lieberman and ranking minority - Susan Collins (RMaine). Other witnesses were Dan Gerstein (DHS), Paul Keim (NSABB) and Tom Inglesby (Univ. of Pittsburgh). Lieberman started the Hearing by stating that I was his "hero". Paul Keim more and more is making me believe that he is a poor Chair of NSABB and a weak person in that he continuously says that Mike Osterholm is off base with his letter to Amy and then he defends him strongly at the Hearing. He wants it both ways. The media (mostly bloggers like Laurie Garrett and others such as Helen Branswell) keep thinking that the USG is acting in some sort of conspiratorial manner regarding letting out information such as Amy's response to Mike Letter. In this regard, I mentioned to Lieberman when he asked about the accusations in Osterholm's letter to Amy that I completely disagreed with most of what was in Mike's letter and that Amy had written a comprehensive refutation of Mike's points and that I would make this letter available to the Committee if they wished. The press picked this up to mean that we were releasing the letter to the public. That was not the case, but eventually ( a couple of days later) when HHS Legisl. Affairs sent the letter to Lieberman, then HHS released the letter. Made nice remarks at Memorial for Frank Neva at the Audubon Society in Bethesda.
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Apr. 29, 2012 - Went to Annual Brunch given by John McLaughlin on the roof of the Hay-Adams Hotel in celebration of the White House Correspondence Ball the night before. It has been several years since I was invited to the Ball. Usual DC celebrities at the Brunch.
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2012-05-01 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
May 1, 2012 - Partook in NAS Workshop Panel on 20 F Street on H5N1. This was part of the NAS Annual Meeting. Controversy continues. At the meeting, Richard Roberts (1993 Nobel Laureate and known Gadfly) came to the microphone and said that many virologists who disagree with Francis Collins and me about doing DURC are afraid to speak up because they fear retribution and will not get their grants funded - Holy Shit!! The epitomy of paranoia. This is not the first time that I have heard this. I blew him out of the water (nicely) by saying that if anyone has even a slight awareness of the NIH peer ighes Medical ty of Miami and review system, they would know that this was impossible even if we wanted to do this, which we clearly do not.
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May 2, 2012 - Went to and spoke at a "Garden Party" at the home of Ellen and Gerry Sigal in honor of Mark Harrington and the 20th Anniversary of the Treatment Action group (TAG). I honored him and reminisced about the activist years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Also speaking was Peggy Hamburg.
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May 3, 2012 - Spoke at the Lasker Board Dinner held at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Headquarters on Jones Bridge Road. Spoke about H5N1 issue.
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May 10, 2012 - Met with old friend Ron Dellums (Former Chair of House Armed Services Committee and former Mayor of Oakland). He has retired from politics and wanted to chat with me about opportunities in consulting in global Health. He had come on the original trip with Tommy Thompson in 2002 to Africa. I referred him to Stewart Simonson. Reviewed data with Ian Lipkin over the phone of study that he coordinated. Data showed that the prior studies from Judy Vitkovits and Harvey Alter/Shy Lo indicating a connection with XMRV/MLV and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome were in fact artifact and there is no connection. Appeared on The NewsHour interviewed by Ray Suarez on the positive recommendation of the FDA Advisory Committee to approve Truvada as PrEP.
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May 11, 2012 - Flew to Miami for U of M Commencement and had dinner with awardees and commencement speakers for the entire University. Donna Shalala (President of U of M) was my sponsor. Dinner at amazingly palatial home of Leonard and Jayne Abess. Formerly home of Sylvester Stallone. Susan Rice (US Ambassador to the UN) was also there. She had given Commencement Address to the Law School that day. Sat next to Stuart Miller who had donated $200 million to the U of M Medical School, which is now named after him. Stayed at Biltmore Hotel in Coral Cables and went on nice long, warm run