The majority will arrive by car and they aren’t waiting until September to get here.

Officially, as part of the Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the National Naval Medical Center across the street will become Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) on Sept. 15. The new Walter Reed is expected to add approximately 4,300 daily commuters, including nearly 1 million patient visits annually—a doubling of the current rate. Many of these patients and the staff to support them are already beginning to arrive.

Although the increase seems daunting, when viewed against the current 77,000 daily commuters in this area, it amounts to only a 6 percent increase. If NIH staff and others do their part to reduce traffic congestion, everyone benefits and we reduce the chance of gridlock, says the Office of Research Services.

NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci

Marking the 30th anniversary of the first published reports June 5, 1981, of a mysterious ailment that would later be called HIV/AIDS, NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s—and arguably the nation’s—chief medical spokesman on the disease, offered a uniquely personal perspective of the fight against the worldwide pandemic. Fauci presented a 50-minute talk before a packed Masur Auditorium on May 31.

In often-humorous, often-poignant reflections, he described his personal journey: How “a medical curiosity I thought would go away” transformed a scientific research career, launching it onto the pages of history.