U.S. Senate Confirms Dr. Hamburg as 21st FDA Commissioner

By Kurt R. Karst –      

On May 18th, the U.S. Senate confirmed (by voice vote) President Obama’s pick to head FDA – Dr. Margaret Hamburg.  Among other things, Dr. Hamburg has worked extensively on bioterrorism issues.  For six years in the 1990s, Dr. Hamburg served as the New York City Commissioner of Health.  Beginning in 1997, she served as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  Immediately prior to her new position as FDA Commissioner, Dr. Hamburg was a senior scientist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based foundation that focused on nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.  Dr. Hamburg, who is the 21st FDA Commissioner and only the second woman to hold the position (see the wall of FDA Commissioners here), has a full plate of issues to deal with.