Peggy Hamburg

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg is the Former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where she served from May 2009 to March 2015. As FDA Commissioner, she advanced regulatory science, medical product innovation and globalization of the agency, while overseeing the implementation of groundbreaking laws to curb the use of tobacco and enhance food safety. She undertook major efforts to streamline and modernize FDA’s regulatory pathways. Before joining FDA, Dr. Hamburg was vice president and senior scientist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. In the 1990s, as New York City's Health Commissioner, she launched several major initiatives, including the nation's first public health bioterrorism preparedness program and an internationally recognized program to curtail the resurgence and spread of TB. President Clinton later named her assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Hamburg earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School.