Statement Regarding Margaret Hamburg, M.D., stepping down as FDA Commissioner

It has been a personal privilege for me to work closely with my friend and colleague Peggy Hamburg over the past years on a wide variety of projects — including most recently, the Precision Medicine Initiative. She is a remarkable leader with extraordinary scientific and medical sophistication, as well as excellent judgment and unquestioned dedication to the public good. Over these six years together, Peggy and I have worked to create a strong, collaborative spirit between our two agencies — and that will endure. My heartfelt thanks to her for all that she’s done to promote and protect people’s health — in America and in the whole world. I wish Peggy all the best in whatever next adventure she chooses to undertake.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health