Is There a Career Highlight for a Scientist?

Jesame: It's very difficult to pick one career highlight, because I have been in a somewhat unique position that I wear multiple hats. As a scientist before HIV, I had the opportunity to be involved in the development of remission-inducing drugs for several formally fatal autoimmune vasculitic syndromes. In 1984, I became the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; it went from $360 million to $6.3 billion during my tenure as director. And among those experiences, the one that stands out to me is my partnership with President George W. Bush when he asked me to be,. the principal architect of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.