David A. Kessler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David A. Kessler
|
|
|---|---|
Kessler in April 2009
|
|
| Head of Operation Warp Speed | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – February 24, 2021 |
|
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Moncef Slaoui |
| Succeeded by | Gustave F. Perna (Chief Operating Officer of COVID-19 Response for Vaccine and Therapeutics) |
| Co-Chair of the COVID-19 Advisory Board | |
| In office November 9, 2020 – January 20, 2021 Serving with Vivek Murthy and Marcella Nunez-Smith
|
|
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| 16th Commissioner of Food and Drugs | |
| In office November 8, 1990 – February 28, 1997 |
|
| President | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Frank Young |
| Succeeded by | Jane E. Henney |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
David Aaron Kessler
May 13, 1951 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Amherst College (BA) University of Chicago (JD) Harvard University (MD) |
David Aaron Kessler (born May 13, 1951) is an American doctor, lawyer, and author. He has held important jobs in the government and at universities. Since 2021, he has been the Chief Science Officer for the White House COVID-19 Response Team. Before that, he led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1990 to 1997. He also helped lead the team that advised President Joe Biden on COVID-19 and was in charge of Operation Warp Speed. This program worked to quickly create vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.
Contents
Early Life and Education
David Kessler went to Amherst College and graduated in 1973. He then studied medicine at Harvard University, becoming a doctor in 1979. While at Harvard, he also earned a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1977.
During his training to become a pediatrician (a doctor for children) at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he also worked with Senator Orrin Hatch. He helped the senator with important issues, especially about how safe food additives were for people. From 1984 to 1990, Kessler managed a large teaching hospital in New York City. At the same time, he taught at Columbia Law School and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Leading the FDA
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush chose David Kessler to be the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is a government agency that makes sure our food, medicines, and other products are safe.
Kessler quickly worked to make the FDA more effective. He helped speed up the process for approving new medicines, including those for AIDS. He also made sure the FDA did a better job of protecting people from unsafe products. Under his leadership, the FDA made new rules for Nutrition Facts labels on food. These labels help you see what's in the food you eat.
One famous action he took was seizing 24,000 gallons of Citrus Hill orange juice. Even though it was made from concentrate, it was labeled "fresh." Kessler was chosen again to lead the FDA by President Bill Clinton.
Kessler also tried to regulate cigarettes. This led to a big court case called FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.. The Supreme Court later decided that the FDA did not have the power to make and enforce those rules at that time. For his work on tobacco, he received the Public Health Hero award in 2008. He wrote a book called A Question of Intent about his time at the FDA and his efforts to change tobacco laws.
After His Time at the FDA
After leaving the FDA, David Kessler became the dean of the Yale School of Medicine from 1997 to 2003. A dean is like a principal for a university school. In 2001, he received a special award called the Public Welfare Medal.
In 2003, he moved to the University of California, San Francisco Medical School to be a dean there too.
Kessler wrote a best-selling book in 2009 called The End of Overeating. In this book, he explains how foods with lots of fat, salt, and sugar can make us want to eat more and more. He says that this can change how our brains work and might lead to overeating and obesity, especially for children. He believes this is not about genetics but about our environment, and it can be avoided.
In November 2020, David Kessler was named one of the three leaders of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board. This group gave advice on how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. He also served as a chief medical advisor for Biden's presidential inauguration in 2021.
On January 15, 2021, the Biden administration announced that Kessler would lead Operation Warp Speed. This program worked to quickly develop, make, and give out COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments.
Selected Publications
- Kessler, David A., Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs: The Simple Truth About Food, Weight, and Disease (2020) ISBN: 9780062996978
- Kessler, David A., Capture: Unraveling the Mystery of Mental Suffering (2016) ISBN: 9780062388513
- Kessler, David A., Your Food Is Fooling You: How Your Brain Is Hijacked by Sugar, Fat, and Salt (2012) ISBN: 9781596438316 (A version of The End of Overeating for teens)
- Kessler, David A., The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite (2009) ISBN: 1-60529-785-2
- Kessler, David A., A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle with a Deadly Industry (2001) ISBN: 1-891620-80-0
- Eisdorfer, Carl, David A. Kessler, and Abby N. Spector, eds. Caring for the Elderly: Reshaping Health Policy (1989) ISBN: 978-0-8018-3810-1
Images for kids
-
Kessler gives a talk at George Washington University in October 2013
