Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday he would step down from his positions as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and as chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden in December.
Fauci, 81, will also step down as chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation.
"While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring," Fauci said. "After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field."
The infectious disease expert has been the NIAID director since 1984, and in 2020 became the face of the US government's efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, Fauci told politico that he planned to retire by the end of President Joe Biden's first term, but it could come much earlier than that.