Disease Knows No Politics

A memoir of medicine, scientific integrity, and the unwavering belief that disease knows no politics.

Disease Knows No Politics is a timely, inspiring memoir that champions the American Dream and defends the National Institutes of Health (NIH) while recounting the extraordinary immigrant journey of Dr. Elias Zerhouni: former NIH director under President George W. Bush, presidential envoy under President Barack Obama, and treating physician for President Ronald Reagan.

Dr. Zerhouni, who was asked to consider directing President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to create a COVID vaccine, has crafted a memoir and urgent manifesto emphasizing that “disease knows no politics.” He argues that science and public health must remain separate from partisan politics. As NIH director, he upheld this principle while navigating political storms, including the embryonic stem cell debate, ensuring the agency served all Americans, regardless of politics, race, religion, or gender.

Dr. Zerhouni spent much of his childhood amidst the Algerian war for Independence, and he later arrived in America in the 1970s from Algiers with his wife, Nadia, and just a few hundred dollars. He built his career as a radiologist and scientist through groundbreaking research and tireless patient care. From Johns Hopkins University to the NIH, Sanofi, and ModeX and OPKO Health, his life journey took him through the heights of academia, government, and industry. Dr. Zerhouni credits America and the tireless support of his wife, Nadia, for making his success possible. His memoir is a tribute to the country that shaped him and a call to protect scientific integrity from political interference.