Dr. Fauci to be succeeded by first openly LGBTQ director of NIAID

WASHINGTON - Doctor Jeanne Marrazzo has been named director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the role when her tenure begins this fall.

Marrazzo currently leads the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, where her research interests included HIV and STIs.

The university, in a press release announcing her appointment to the agency, called her “a trusted advisor and friend who gave us the insights, guidance and confidence that allowed our institution to thrive in spite of immense challenges” amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As NIAID director, Jeanne will oversee NIAID’s budget of $6.3 billion supporting research to advance the under- standing, diagnosis and treatment of infectious, immunologic and allergic diseases,” said UAB in the press release.

“The NIAID research response to outbreaks of infectious diseases, from HIV to Ebola to COVID-19, has led to new therapies, vaccines, diagnostic tests and other technologies,” UAB noted.

“Dr. Marrazzo brings a wealth of leadership experience from leading international clinical trials and translational research, managing a complex organizational budget that includes research funding and mentoring trainees in all stages of professional development,” NIH Acting Director Lawrence A. Tabak said in a press release Wednesday.

Tabak thanked Hugh Auchincloss, Jr. for serving as Acting NIAID director after the longtime director Dr. Anthony Fauci stepped down in November 2022.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

“As the group began to yell at Mr. Sibley and his friends, they began to call them derogatory names and used homophobic slurs against him,” Kenny said.“ They also made anti-Black statements, all while demanding that they simply stop dancing.”

“This encounter lasts for approximately four minutes, when the victim and the known perpetrator come together,” Kenny continued. “This perpetrator retreats away from Mr. Sibley, while striking him one time with a sharp object, piercing his chest and damaging his heart. Mr. Sibley falls to the sidewalk while the perpetrator flees the scene in a Toyota Highlander.”

Kenny noted the 17-year-old suspect’s identification happened “quickly,” saying he lives in Brooklyn and is a student at a “nearby high school.”

Kenny said that the apprehension was a joint effort by NYPD’s fugitive task force and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Regional Task Force. The 17-year-old was charged under NY Penal Law § 125.25: Murder in the second degree with a hate crime enhancement, he’s also being charged with criminal possession of a weapon and has been remanded into custody.

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