Washington, DC, September 6, 2006 -- The GW Medical Center is delighted to welcome Dr. Susan Wood as she joins The Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy Project (SKAPP) in the GW School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).
Dr. Wood drew national attention to the issue of science being disregarded in public health decisions in 2005 when she resigned from her post as the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) director of the Office of Women’s Health and assistant commissioner for Women’s Health, citing the agency’s continual delays in approving the emergency contraceptive Plan B as a non-prescription product. Despite having concluded that scientific data supported the safe use of Plan B over the counter, the FDA embarked on another regulatory process that would delay the decision indefinitely.
“I have spent the last 15 years working to ensure that science informs good health and policy decisions,” Dr. Wood wrote to her colleagues. “I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled.”
“Susan Wood is a powerful advocate for using the best available science to protect human health in the face of political pressure,” says SKAPP Director Dr. David Michaels. “That commitment, along with her expertise in women’s health issues and FDA procedures, makes her a valuable addition to our faculty.”
Dr. Wood served as assistant commissioner for Women’s Health and director of the Office of Women’s Health at the FDA (2000–2005); director of the Division of Policy and Program Development at the Office of Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (1995–2000); and as deputy director/science advisor for the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues (1990–1995).
She received her PhD in Biology from the Boston University Marine Program in 1989. Soon after, she carried out basic research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Also, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Psychology from Southwestern at Memphis.
SKAPP is part of The George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services, and Dr. Wood has joined the faculty as a research professor in SPHHS’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Her research will focus on ideas and policy proposals concerning the FDA, with an emphasis on the agency’s use of science. She will begin this semester by organizing workshops to identify priority topics and policy solutions.
SKAPP is an initiative of scholars examining the application of scientific evidence in the legal and regulatory arenas. The project advances transparent decision-making that draws on the best science to protect public health.
See also:
Susan Wood's bio page
News release in PDF format
