OREANDA-NEWS National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director and chief presidential medical advisor Anthony Fauci said Monday he will be stepping down from the positions in December to continue his career elsewhere.

"I am announcing today that I will be stepping down from the positions of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as the position of Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden. I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career," Fauci said in a statement. Fauci plans to continue his scientific and public health careers, including by mentoring the next generation of leaders to help prepare them for future infectious disease threats, the statement added.

US President Joe Biden in a statement following the announcement thanked Fauci for his decades of public service, which included leading response efforts to the outbreaks of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.One of the first calls Biden made as President-elect was to Fauci in order to request his service as Chief Medical Advisor amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said. Biden has been able to call Fauci any hour of the day for advice on public health crises, the statement also said. Fauci served under seven presidents of both political parties and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 by the George W. Bush administration.