ST. LOUIS — The nation’s former top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, gave the Washington University School of Medicine class of 2023 professional and personal advice during Monday’s commencement.

During the graduation ceremonies, Fauci received an honorary Washington University degree.

Fauci’s introduction before he took the podium was interrupted with a long applause and cheers by the graduates, WashU professors, and audience members.

“While the broad context of my own medical school experiences and yours share many commonalities, your journey has been truly exceptional,” Fauci said. “Despite the profound upheaval constraints and losses caused by the historic COVID-19 pandemic.”

Fauci retired last December as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and served as a medical advisor to seven U.S. presidents.

He additionally has made groundbreaking contributions in infectious disease and immunology research and to public health with his most recent work to inform the public about COVID-19, among his other accomplishments.

“Consciously or subconsciously, each of you will carry an imprint of this public health crisis that intruded upon your formal education, as well as on your personal lives. I have enormous respect for your dedication that allowed you to successfully complete your medical school training under these trying circumstances.

“I am totally impressed with the extraordinary and impactful response that your class mounted at the university and community levels during the height of the pandemic.”

What the medical students learned during the COVID-19 pandemic will serve them well as future medical professionals, he said.

Lessons learned coming out of the pandemic that will apply in future situations Fauci mentioned include expect the unexpected, any predictions must always be provisional, and to be open minded and flexible in assessing a situation as new information unfolds.

He also told the graduating class that as they venture out into the world, leaving behind the comforts of Washington University, that career paths are not linear.

“Some of the most remarkable events that I have experienced or directions that I have taken turned out to be unanticipated or unplanned,” he said.

“If I had stuck to my original plans that I made 50 years ago when I graduated from medical school, I would have been in the private practice of medicine out of the New York Presbyterian Hospital at Weill Cornell Medicine on New York Avenue at 69th Street in Manhattan. And you would have certainly had a different commencement speaker.”

He encouraged the graduates to consider and pursue unanticipated opportunities that may be out of their comfort zones because it could be fulfilling, exciting and life altering.

In addition to expect the unexpected, Fauci advised to embrace science and “beware of the insidious nature of anti-science.”  

He went into detail about the record-breaking timeline of the COVID-19 vaccines and that was due to the fundamental research done decades prior on immunology, coronaviruses, MRNA vaccine platform technology, and structure-based vaccine design.

“The result was millions of lives were saved in the United States and throughout the world. This is an extraordinary example of what science can accomplish,” Fauci said.

At the same time, he said significant anti-science forces accelerated and became louder over time, as well as conspiracy theories about the vaccines, which “eroded trust in evidence-based public health principles.”

Fauci’s next lesson he said is “push back on the normalization of the untruths.” He went into detail about how the spread of misinformation and disinformation during the pandemic “caused thousands of people to doubt the safety and effectiveness of proven vaccines and treatments, and thus, to suffer illness and deaths that could have been prevented had they accessed these medical interventions.”

To counteract the threat to the social fabric, Fauci said the graduates are the best hope as they have insights into evidence-based medicine.

“Do your best to listen to doubts and concerns, and in turn, communicate with plain language and compassion to your patients, to the media, and to anyone who will listen, and explain what is known and what is not known,” he said.

“Vital part of your career will be helping people to understand and follow the best available science-based information.”

Fauci talked about how the importance of caring for their patients is through humanity and not AI or technology.

Finally, he advised the class of 2023 to find joy outside of professional accomplishments because there are so many things to live for and to be happy about.

“Congratulations to you, to your families and your loved ones. Good luck and God bless you,” Fauci said.