My Dr. Tony Fauci Story
Paris. June 1986
This is my Tony Fauci story.
I was the facilitator here. Dr. Steven Scheibel did all the work.
Dr. Steven Scheibel (1957-2019), my Community Health Network co-founder and long time collaborator and friend, was there. In fact, Scheibel sealed the deal.
Dr. Fauci doughnuts, as made this week by Rochester’s Donuts Delite.
It was 1986 on the eve of designations for the first 6 AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the new Federal research programs. At the time, Tony Fauci was developing this global network at NIH as their senior scientist.
I was planning on going to the International AIDS Conference in Pais that year. At the time, I was the AIDS doctor at the University of Rochester.
Two days before I left, I was called to my infectious diseases chief’s office. He told me - “I want you and Scheibel to meet with Tony Fauci at the AIDS conference. We are close to being designated by NIH. I want him to meet you and Scheibel”
He went on, “I’ve scheduled a meeting with Fauci in Paris, but I can’t leave town. So you and Scheibel need to talk to him. Margaret (front office) has the details on the meeting.”
I called Steve Scheibel. He was packing. “See you in Paris,” he said.
Dr. Steve was always self-effacing about how we were dispatched to Paris to meet with Tony and seal the deal !!! Steve would say, “They sent me because I had a valid passport!!” Then he would laugh out loud.
It was one of those drive by meetings—half an hour. Not a lot of time. We met outdoors at the conference site, and drank coffee with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
As we walked toward Tony to introduce ourselves, Steve said to me, “You open.”
This is the gist of the conversation.
Valenti: “Tony, what do you think about Rochester as an ACTG site?”
Fauci: (Being evasive) “Why should we designate Rochester an ACTG site??”
Valenti: “Because we can deliver.” Meaning we could enroll patients in AIDS Clinical Trials. That was our ‘get it done’ mantra.
Scheibel takes over: For the next 15 minutes I listened and nodded affirmatively while Steve and Tony talked about the AIDS virus, how it works, immune system dysfunction and the big one—testing and drug treatment.
Scheibel was positively brilliant. And he was just starting his career at the time, so he was a kid. But a very smart, engaging kid.
When we left the meeting, we were all very cordial with hand shaking all around. Fauci did not “reveal his hand.”
We were designated two weeks later.
Steve Scheibel in a visit to Rochester, 2017. Dinner with Trillium’s Innovation Team. Scheibel front right.