Share this article Share this article WASHINGTON, March 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Physician-scientist Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health, has donated his personal 3D model of the SARS-CoV-2 virion to the national medicine and science collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The donation was presented virtually to the museum's Elizabeth MacMillan Director Anthea M. Hartig during the March 2 "Great Americans Program" in which Fauci received the museum's signature honor, the Great Americans medal. Fauci, who is also chief medical advisor to the White House, has used the model as an educational tool in his work over the past 13 months, explaining the COVID-19 pandemic in briefings to congressional members, journalists and the public. The model was made with a 3D printer and shows the various components of the SARS-CoV-2 virion (the complete, infectious form of the virus), including the spike protein.