Diary Prequel Package — page 313

yrona May 8, 2013 - Appeared on NPR Morning Edition radio with Richard Knox regarding H7N9 flu. Also, gave Opening Keynote Address at the Annual Meeting of the HPTN/IMPAACT Networks held at Marriott Wardman Hotel on Calvert Street, N.W. Myron (Mike) Cohen presented me with a basketball signed to me from Roy Williams, head coach at UNC. Mike gave it to me to "neutralize" the signed basketball that I received years ago from Duke Head Coach Mike K. May 9, 2013 - Had Congressional visit here at NIH in the Clinical Center medical Board Room on 4th Floor of Building10. Delegation led by Eric Cantor (R-VA). Also present were Congressmen Andy Harris (R-MD), Elliot Engel (D-NY), Ted Yoho (R-FL), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Renee Ellmers (R-NC). Tim Murphy (R-PA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). NIH was represented by me, Francis Collins, Gary Gibbons, Eric Green, Chris Austin, Larry Tabak, Kathy Hudson, John Gallin. We were trying (successfully) to familiarize them with the NIH and what we do. Also, to impress on them the damage due to sequestration. I spoke about the major advances in treatment of HIV and the possibility of a universal Influenza vaccine. All in all it was a very good meeting. Went to Book party at the home of Bob and Deborah Seder in honor of Andrea Redmond who co-authored book called "Rwanda, Inc." about entrepreneurship in Rwanda and the effect on the economy. Had long conversation with my good friend Cheryl Mills, Former Chief-of-Staff to Sec. Hillary Clinton and long-time Counselor to Clinton about the "scandal" associated with the Benghazi incident where the Republicans are trying to attack the Administration and especially Hillary Clinton for negligence/incompetence in not protecting and responding in time to the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya in which the US Ambassador was killed. Cheryl says that the whistle-blower Greg Hicks is clearly not telling the story as it happened with regard to the State Department responding or not to the threats against the embassy. I obviously believe Cheryl. May 13, 2013 - Slow down of activity on H7N9; uptick of activity with MERS Corona virus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). I appeared today on WTOP and BBC television discussing MERS CoV. May 15, 2013 - Testified at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing for NIH today. Testified with Francis Collins, Harold Varmus, Story Landis, Richard Hodes and Gary Gibbons. Friendly Hearing. Asked me questions about DURC, Antibiotic resistant bacteria, H7N9 influenza pre-pandemic, universal flu vaccines and autoimmunity. As mentioned many times above, the Hearings are very different from 10-20 years ago. We had 2 hours for the entire NIH, when back then we had a week of Hearing with individual half-days for the big institutes. May 17, 2013 - Interesting dinner with my friends Catherine and Wayne Reynolds at Adour Restaurant at the St. Regis Hotel on 16th and K Streets, N.W. Other guests were John Rogers who was Assistant to the President during the Reagan Administration. He remembered me from back then. He went off to be Deputy to Jim Baker when Baker became Secretary of State for Reagan. His wife Deborah was charming and a nice