"The FDA Alumni Association is the official global network of former and current FDA employees, connecting and supporting alumni, the Agency, and the public health community"

Email addresses: Please be sure FDAAA has your current email address. Please check the directory on this web site to make sure. If your email address is outdated, or if you do not receive periodic FDAAA Updates from Alan Andersen, please let Karen Carson know. (kdlmc@aol.com)

Eastern Shore Informal Gathering

Eastern Shore Meet Up

FDAAA members and friends who spend weekends on the Eastern Shore of Maryland gathered for lunch July 20 to celebrate summer and reminisce about their days at the agency. FDAAA encourages alumni to hold such informal gatherings.

FDAAA Meets and Greets Current Employees

Current employees of the FDA may join the FDAAA as associate members, and FDAAA has an active recruitment effort underway to encourage current employees to join. On June 26, at the White Oak campus, current FDAers and FDAAA associate members Laurie Lenkel and Andrea Chamblee reached out to potential associate members with a Meet and Greet which included an introduction to FDAAA and the associate membership. About a dozen attendees came for coffee and bagels.

Two new FDAAA associate members commended the Spring Fling, and told other attendees that they enjoyed the chance to hear and meet the new FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb. As the group convened, they began to brainstorm about roles and advantages for associate members who work in White Oak. Whether they plan to stay at FDA just a few years or until they are eligible for retirement, they agreed that there was a need for resources they could tap for navigating their careers in FDA, to position themselves to be more valuable after they leave FDA.

Laurie and Andrea told them about the FDAAA event, "What I wish I knew," where well-respected FDA retirees presented their advice to new- and mid-career FDA employees, and about the pilot mentoring program with FDA/ORA and FDAAA. They hoped the programs would be repeated, and asked about less formal meetings and mentorships with associate members and all FDAAA members to help them manage their careers.

For membership information, click on the Membership page. Dues for associate members are $20 for 1 year; $35 for 2 years, or $50 for 3 years. A lifetime membership is available for a one-time fee of $300.

June Meet and Greet

Current FDA employees learn about FDAAA at the Meet and Greet June 26 at White Oak

Another Successful Spring Fling

On June 9, FDAAA hosted its 8th annual Commissioner's Spring Fling to celebrate the new FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb and former Acting Commissioner Dr. Steve Ostroff. The turn out was terrific from both the alumni and not-yet alumni sides. We enjoyed more than 65 attendees.

The camaraderie around this event is palpable and the Red Hot and Blue BBQ (and vegetarian wraps) were delicious.

Dr. Gottlieb informally addressed the group, highlighting his priorities for the agency and his experiences previously at FDA and on the alumni fronts. He discussed his focus on addressing the opioid crisis and spurring competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace. He also noted that, in the decade he had been away from the FDA, the agency had received major new legislative mandates in both the food (FSMA) and drug (Cures Act) arenas. He noted he was enthusiastic about taking on these challenges and advancing FDA as a strong, science-based agency.

Clearly this is a tradition worth continuing!

Gottlieb at Spring Fling

New Commissioner Gottlieb addresses the Spring Fling

Ed Steele and Susan Mayne

FDAAA President Ed Steele and CFSAN Director Susan Mayne

65 People attended the Spring Fling

About 65 people - alumni and future alumni (i.e., current employees) attended the Spring Fling

Dr. Scott Gottlieb is New FDA Commissioner

Scott Gottlieb, M.D.

On May 11 Dr. Gottlieb became the FDA Commissioner. Here is how the FDA web site (https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/ucm557569.htm) announced his arrival:

"Dr. Scott Gottlieb was sworn in as the 23rd Commissioner of Food and Drugs on May 11, 2017. Dr. Gottlieb is a physician, medical policy expert, and public health advocate who previously served as the FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs and before that, as a senior advisor to the FDA Commissioner."

"He also worked on implementation of the Medicare drug benefit as a senior advisor to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he supported policy work on quality improvement and the agency's coverage process, particularly as it related to new medical technologies."

"In 2013 Dr. Gottlieb was appointed by the Senate to serve on the Federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which advises the Department of Health and Human Services on healthcare information technology."

"Dr. Gottlieb was previously a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Medicine in Manhattan, where he also practiced medicine as a hospitalist physician."

"He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, New York and is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, where he studied Economics."

Dr. Hamburg Receives FDAAA's Wiley Award

Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Hamburg is this year's recipient of the Harvey W. Wiley Lecture Award. Dr. Wiley, as we all know, was the first FDA Commissioner, after he navigated through Congress the enactment of the original Pure Food and Drugs Act which led to the creation of the FDA. Dr. Hamburg served as Commissioner under President Obama. She expanded FDA's global presence and established many of the programs recently added to the agency. In this photo Dr. Hamburg accepts the award from Ed Steele, who has served as president of FDAAA since 2013 and who is this year's recipient of the FDA Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Hamburg delivered the annual Wiley lecture on May 5 at the Food and Drug Law Institute's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Dr. Hamburg also was recognized at the FDAAA annual meeting which was held the same day. For background on the awards please see the Awards page.

FDAAA Briefs FDA Fellows Class on FDA History, Perspective

FDAAA members and FDA alumni brief the FDA Fellows. Left to right are Bill Vodra, Susan Winckler, Jeanne Ireland, Debbie Henderson, Nancy Myers, Ed Steele and Wayne Pines

FDAAA each year sponsors an afternoon session for the FDA Fellows Class. The session consisted this year of a presentation by FDA Historian Suzanne Junod, followed by a session where FDA alumni discuss their experiences at FDA and the lessons they learned. The alumni who participate come from many different offices across the agency to give the Fellows a broad series of insights into the agency.

Seven alumni/FDAAA members participated in the session on January 23 at the White Oak building. See the photo for the alumni presenters.

Some of the themes underscored by the alumni were to advise the Fellows to take advantage of the unique opportunities presented by the FDA, and what specific steps the FDA Fellows can take to maximize their experience at FDA.

This is the eighth year that the FDAAA has sponsored this briefing. Many Fellows have turned into permanent FDA employees.

Links to Recent FDAAA Events and Announcements

Recent FDAAA Events

Announcements