NIH Names Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, to Lead National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Nearly 8 months after Anthony Fauci, MD, stepped down, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has named Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Marrazzo, currently director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will assume her role at the NIAID in the fall.

In a position that skyrocketed to the front of the public's eye during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marrazzo will be responsible for overseeing the NIAID's $6.3 billion budget, the NIH's second largest after the National Cancer Institute. The budget supports research that contributes to the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases, including research that occurrs at universities and research organizations in the US and at NIAID's 21 laboratories, which include the Vaccine Research Center and the Rocky Mountains Laboratories.

Professionally, Marrazzo's work has focused on the human microbiome, specifically in relation to female reproductive health and hormonal contraception, HIV prevention, as well as management of bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted diseases in people with HIV, and antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea. A prolofic principal investigator, peer-reviewer, and advisory committee member, Marrazzo has mentored extensively in the field and is the recipient of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association’s Distinguished Career Award.

“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,” said acting director of the NIH Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD, in a statement.

Marrazzo will replace acting NIAID director Hugh Auchincloss, Jr., MD, who assumed the role after Fauci stepped down from the post after serving as NIAID director for nearly 40 years.