FDA CFSAN Director Steps Down

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg announced Monday that Stephen Sundlof is stepping down from his position leading the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) to accept a two-year assignment with the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

Michael Landa, will assume the position of acting director. Landa has been Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs at CFSAN since 2004 and began his FDA career in 1978 as Assistant Chief Counsel for Enforcement, Medical Devices and Veterinary Medicine. In addition, Roberta Wagner and Donald Kraemer, who have extensive experience at FDA, both at headquarters and in the field, will serve as Acting Deputy Directors.

Sundlof provided leadership at FDA for 16 years, including 14 years as the Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine. In his new position, Sundlof will be starting a new training and development program in regulatory science in conjunction with the University of Minnesota and the Ohio State University. He will also continue to be available to the FDA Foods Program as a Senior Advisor. 

Sundlof began his career in 1980 on the faculty of the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine.  His research interests in drug residues in livestock eventually led to interactions with the FDA, first as a member and later as the chair of the FDA’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee.  In 1994, he was named the CVM Director by FDA Commissioner David Kessler.

Sundlof will assume his new duties on May 10, where he will be designing focuses on a curriculum for certification and Master degrees drawing from key faculty across three large universities with strong public health programs, and from FDA subject matter experts. The programs will be designed especially for government employees and offer a blend of science, policy, leadership, and nontechnical skills necessary to be successful in today’s complex regulatory environment.