Dr. Sara Brenner has been appointed acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Brenner replaces Dr. Robert Califf.
The announcement was made quietly via an update made online at the FDAs Leadership Bio Page. From January 24, the Brenner biography was not added to the page.
Brenner has supervised medical devices at the FDA. Her new acting post includes responsibility for the Human Foods program of the agency, which is responsible for 80 percent of the country’s food supply. The vast majority of the FDA budget does not relate to the Foods program, but rather finances the medical side of the agency.
Brenner will lead the FDA until a permanent commissioner is installed. President Donald Trump has nominated Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary as FDA commissioner, but he has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. Confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who, as Trump’s choice to run the Ministry of Health and Human Services, would be the boss of Makary, planned for January 29 and January 30.
Brenner has worked in the FDAs Medical Devices Branch, most recently as Chief Medical Officer for Vitro Diagnostics and associated director for Medical Affairs. Brenner has been at the desk since 2019. She helped to coordinate diagnostic standards and policy as part of the COVID-19 response.
Brenner was a senior policy advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the first Trump administration.
Former FDA Commissioner Califf resigned on January 20, Trump’s Inauguration Day.
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