Dr. Anthony Fauci says empathy motivated his medical career but an old phrase from high school kept him going

“Don’t let the bastards wear you down.” That phrase, instilled in Dr. Anthony Fauci as a student at a Jesuit-run school might as well be the motto of his professional life.

(CNN) — “Don’t let the bastards wear you down.” That phrase, instilled in Dr. Anthony Fauci when he was a student at the Jesuit-run Regis High School in New York City, might as well be the motto of his professional life. Even though he chose a career centered in science, medicine and public health, controversy has always had a way of finding him. By being willing to examine his own positions, he often found a way to turn a brewing storm into something constructive. Fauci chronicles many such moments in his new memoir, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.” Fauci had already been in the public eye as the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health, but he became a veritable household name at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which was charged with monitoring and mitigating the spread of the virus. Fauci spoke frequently to the worried and bewildered American public at government news conferences, giving status updates and offering guidance on such topics as face masks, social distancing, school closures, hospitalization rates and, eventually, vaccines. Many credit him with helping the country navigate the uncharted waters of the coronavirus crisis with his medical expertise, calm demeanor and signature Brooklyn-tinged gravelly voice.