NIH 1998 Almanac/The Organization/FIC/
John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences: Biographical Sketch of FIC Director
Philip E. Schambra, Ph.D.
Dr. Schambra was born in Saginaw, Mich., on November 8, 1934. He received a B.A. degree
in physics from Rice University in 1956 and his Ph.D. in biophysics from Yale University
in 1962. He did postdoctoral work for 2 years at the Institute for Radiobiology in
Karlsruhe, West Germany. From 1964 to 1967, he worked at the Donner Laboratory at the
University of California, Berkeley. His scientific field of specialization is the
biological effects of densely ionizing radiation.
In 1967 he joined the NIH as a grants associate. He then served for 3 years at the
Office of Management and Budget as examiner for the NIH budget. From 1971 through 1974, he
worked on the staff of the President's Council on Environmental Quality.
Returning to the NIH in 1974, Dr. Schambra served as associate director for interagency
programs of NIEHS, where he directed and administered a variety of interagency and
international activities involving NIEHS and other agencies.
In 1980 he became chief of the International Coordination and Liaison Branch at FIC. In
1984, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, as science attache and
international health representative. In India, he had direct responsibility for many
cooperative U.S.-Indian science projects, and played a major role in initiating the
Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program. In August 1988, he was appointed FIC director.
Directors of FIC
