On March 14, President Barack Obama nominated Margaret Hamburg, former NYC health commissioner, for commissioner of the FDA. He also nominated Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore’s health commissioner, to principal deputy FDA commissioner, and named him as the agency’s acting chief until Hamburg is confirmed. He is replacing Frank Torti, the acting commissioner who stepped in after former commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach resigned.

In light of recent salmonella outbreaks, some politicians have proposed a bill to separate the FDA into two different agencies, one for food and one for drugs. The food group would purportedly have better control over the nation’s food safety. Sharfstein would supposedly run that agency. Sharfstein is known for his drive in persuading the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry that some cold medications should not be approved for children. He also worked to bring tobacco under FDA control.

Margaret Hamburg has an undergraduate degree and a medical degree from Harvard University. She did her residency in internal medicine at Cornell Medical Center, and conducted research here at the Rockefeller University from 1985 to 1986. From 1986 to 1990, Hamburg was at the National Institutes of Health, doing neuropharmacology and AIDS research. She was New York City’s youngest health commissioner, from 1991 to 1997. She developed a tuberculosis control program that reduced the city’s infection rate by 46%. She was in support of a divisive needle exchange program that helped reduce the spread of AIDS in the city. During her tenure here she opposed a bill which required AIDS counselors to emphasize abstinence. She said that science, and not “wishful thinking,” should drive AIDS education. During this time she also held academic appointments at Columbia University and Cornell University Medical College.

After her tenure as New York City’s health czar, she was then President Clinton’s assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Since 2001 she has been vice president for biological programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The foundation, started by Ted Turner, is dedicated to diminishing the public threat from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

In 2005, Dr. Hamburg was elected to the Rockefeller Board of Trustees. Her father, David Hamburg, M.D., is a trustee emeritus. She is a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Hamburg is not expected to face much opposition to her appointment. Her appointment has been supported by various organizations, such as the US Pharmacopeia, The American Association for Cancer Research, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and The Generic Pharmaceutical Association.