(AP) A San Francisco physician who oversaw the city's efforts to prevent HIV infections has been named as director of the Office of National AIDS Policy.
President Barack Obama announced Dr. Grant Colfax's appointment as the White House AIDS czar on Wednesday. Colfax replaces Jeff Crowley, who left the position in December.
As national director of AIDS policy, Colfax is charged with overseeing the administration's plans for reducing the spread of HIV and improving treatment for people with AIDS.
In addition to leading the San Francisco Department of Public Health's HIV prevention department, Colfax is an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
As a doctor-in-training during the height of the AIDS crisis, he treated patients at the nation's first hospital wing for people with the disease, based at San Francisco General Hospital.