John M. Taylor, III, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, today announced his decision to leave FDA after a distinguished 14 year career at the agency. Margaret O’K. Glavin, FDA’s current Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Counterterrorism Policy and Planning, has been named the new Associate Commissioner.
“As the head of our field force, John championed the public health by bringing some of the agency’s largest and most significant enforcement actions,” said Dr. Lester M. Crawford, Acting FDA Commissioner. “Indeed John’s legacy at the agency includes significant accomplishments related to agency initiatives on blood safety, counterterrorism, food safety and pharmaceutical product quality.”
Mr. Taylor joined FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel in 1991 after graduating from the law school of the College of William & Mary. Six years later he moved to the Office of the Commissioner as Senior Advisor on Regulatory Affairs. In 2000, he was named Director, Office of Enforcement, in FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs, and served in that capacity until his appointment to his current position in 2002.
Prior to FDA, Ms. Glavin served at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as Acting Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a 10,000-person public health regulatory agency responsible for the safety of the meat and poultry supply. Before being named Acting Administrator in 2001, Ms. Glavin served as Associate Administrator of FSIS, a position in which she was responsible for the daily operations of that agency and its 7,000-person field force. Immediately prior to joining FDA in 2003, Ms. Glavin spent a year focusing on food safety issues as a visiting scholar at Resources for the Future, a prominent Washington, D.C. think tank.
“Maggie brings extensive leadership experience and a background in crisis management to this very important position at FDA,” added Dr. Crawford. “The work of our field force is absolutely critical to our public health mission.”
A graduate of Trinity College and Georgetown University, Ms. Glavin has published articles in various publications, including Food and Agriculture 2003, SAIS Review, and Food and Drug Law Journal.
Boris D. Lushniak, MD, MPH, will replace Ms. Glavin as the FDA’s Assistant Commissioner for Counterterrorism Policy. Dr. Lushniak previously served as the Chief Medical Officer in the FDA’s Office of Counterterrorism Policy and Planning. Dr. Lushniak is a Captain in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service who has significant expertise in counterterrorism activities, disaster response, medical epidemiology and occupational diseases.