President-elect Joe Biden has chosen the head of the infectious diseases division at Massachusetts General Hospital to serve as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control, which will put Rochelle Walensky at the epicenter of the US coronavirus response and vaccination efforts.

Biden’s transition team announced the appointment Monday, along with his nominations of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as health and human services secretary, Dr. Vivek Murthy as surgeon general, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith as chair of the COVID-19 Equity Task Force.

Biden also officially chose Anthony Fauci as his chief medical adviser on COVID-19, and Fauci will continue as National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director.

Walensky was described as an “influential scholar whose pioneering research has helped advance the national and global response to HIV/AIDS” and “one of America’s most respected experts on the value of testing and treatment of deadly viruses.”