Newswise — March 28, 2011 – (BRONX, NY) – Noted AIDS researcher and immunologist Anthony S. Fauci will deliver the keynote address at the 2011 commencement ceremony for Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will speak at Einstein’s graduation, which takes place Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.
Director of NIAID since 1984, Dr. Fauci oversees basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on transplantation and immune-related illnesses, including autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies. In addition to HIV/AIDS, Dr. Fauci also advises senior administration officials on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats such as pandemic influenza.
In his commencement address, Dr. Fauci will highlight the constant change inherent in medicine, which is evolving as fast as the frontier of biomedical science advances. His talk, “The Perpetual Student and the Changing Landscape of Medicine,” will address how this ongoing evolution of science is both demanding and exciting, encouraging clinicians and researchers to learn throughout their entire career. While keeping abreast of the latest research is important, Dr. Fauci will also emphasize the need for physicians to keep the enduring principles of patient care at the forefront of their minds.
“Dr. Fauci is an extraordinary physician/scientist, research administrator and public servant,” said Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean. “He exemplifies the professional and personal characteristics our graduates should strive to emulate.”
Dr. Fauci has made many contributions to basic and clinical research on the development and treatment of immune-mediated and infectious diseases. He has made a number of basic scientific observations that serve as the basis for current understanding of the regulation of the human immune response, and he has developed effective treatments for some formerly fatal inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. Dr. Fauci has also made seminal contributions to the understanding of how the AIDS virus destroys the body’s defenses, making it more susceptible to deadly infections. He has been instrumental in developing highly effective strategies for treating patients with HIV/AIDS and in helping lead efforts to find a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV infection.
Dr. Spiegel will join Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel in presenting the diplomas at the June 1 ceremony. This year, Einstein plans to confer approximately 185 M.D. degrees, 57 Ph.D. degrees and 12 M.S. degrees. Fourteen graduates will receive both an M.D. and a Ph.D. degree.
During the ceremony, a number of distinguished individuals will be honored with alumni and teaching awards.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva UniversityAlbert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2010-2011 academic year, Einstein is home to 724 M.D. students, 256 Ph.D. students, 122 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 375 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has 2,770 fulltime faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2009, Einstein received more than $135 million in support from the NIH. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Through its extensive affiliation network involving five medical centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Long Island – which includes Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein – the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering approximately 150 residency programs to more than 2,500 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu.
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