Dr Anthony Fauci announced that he would leave his federal health roles in December 2022, ending a long career that made him one of America’s best-known public-health officials. The decision mattered because Fauci had been a central adviser during the COVID-19 pandemic and a prominent, often politically divisive, voice on infectious disease policy.

Fauci said he was not retiring entirely but intended to pursue a “next chapter” and help inspire future scientists and public-health workers. He had led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, served under seven presidents and spent more than five decades at the National Institutes of Health; his posts included chief medical adviser to President Biden.