Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS, PhD, acting director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has named Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, as director of NIH’s National Institute Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Marrazzo is currently the director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is expected to begin her role as NIAID director in the fall.
“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 Tabak. “I look forward to welcoming Dr. Marrazzo to the NIH leadership team. I also want to extend my gratitude to Hugh Auchincloss, Jr., MD, for serving as acting director of NIAID after long-time director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, stepped down in December 2022.”
Fauci released a statement in August 2022 announcing he was stepping down as director to pursue the next chapter of his career.
As director, Marrazzo will oversee the NIAID’s budget of $6.3 billion, which supports research to advance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. 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.
Marrazzo is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and is board certified in infectious disease. She earned her bachelor’s in biology from Harvard University; her MD from Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia; and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Washington, Seattle. She has chaired the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Council and the ABIM Infectious Disease Specialty Board.
Marrazzo’s research in discovery and implementation science has focused on the human microbiome, specifically as it relates to female reproductive tract infections and hormonal contraception; prevention of HIV infection using biomedical interventions, including PrEP and microbicides; and the pathogenesis and management of bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted diseases in HIV-infected persons and management of antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea.
She has been a principal investigator on NIH grants continuously since 1997 and has served frequently as a peer reviewer and advisory committee member. She also has served as a mentor to trainees at all stages of professional development, including on NIH-funded training grants, and was the recipient of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association’s Distinguished Career Award, the highest recognition of contributions to research and mentoring in the field.
