In a press release issued by the White House today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Stephen Hahn, MD, FASTRO, to be the Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Stephen Hahn, MD, FASTRO
Dr. Hahn has been Chief Medical Executive at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center since May 2018 and the Gilbert H. Fletcher Memorial Distinguished Chair and Professor of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson since January 2015. As a radiation oncologist, Dr. Hahn specializes in treating lung cancer and sarcoma. He has authored 220 peer-reviewed original research articles.
From 1996 until 2014, Dr. Hahn was affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was Henry K. Pancoast Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology from 2005 to 2014. He was also a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from 1989 until 1996.
Dr. Hahn received his medical degree from Temple University. He completed his residency in radiation oncology and his fellowship in medical oncology at the NCI and his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Hospitals. He is board-certified in both medical oncology and radiation oncology.
According to The Washington Post, Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Norman Sharpless, MD, will return to his previous position as Director of the NCI, and Brett Giroir, MD, the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will oversee the FDA as Dr. Hahn undergoes the confirmation process.
"The role of FDA Commissioner requires a strong commitment to advancing the agency's mission to protect public health across the United States, and an understanding of how to help speed innovations to get new treatments to patients, while also ensuring the safety and efficacy of the medical products that millions of Americans rely on to manage, treat, and cure their cancer," said ASCO President Howard A. "Skip" Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO. "ASCO has a long and productive history of collaborating with FDA...in support of the agency's important role in reducing cancer incidence, advancing treatment options, and improving the lives of individuals with cancer. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration to make it possible for every American with cancer to have access to medical products that are safe and effective."
