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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Advisory Committees

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Membership Types

FDA Advisory Committees: 

Membership Types

Scientific members of FDA public advisory committees must be technically qualified experts in their field (e.g., clinical medicine, engineering, biological and physical sciences, biostatistics, and food sciences) and have experience interpreting complex data. Candidates must be able to analyze detailed scientific data and understand its public health significance.

Academician/Practitioner

An academician or a practitioner representative uses his or her expert knowledge to provide state-of-the-art advice on scientific issues under deliberation at the FDA. These representatives publicly explore scientific questions that have regulatory impact.

Examples of expertise needed:

Chemists Pharmacists
Dentists Physicians (academicians and practitioners)
Engineers Physicists
Epidemiologists Statisticians
Food Scientists Toxicologists
Microbiologists Veterinarians 

Other membership types represent specialized knowledge or points of view:

Consumer

The Food and Drug Administration seeks input from consumers on medical and scientific issues. A key method of ensuring that FDA gets consumers points of view is by including consumer representatives on Agency advisory committees.

The role of the consumer representative is to:

  • Represent the consumer perspective on issues and actions before the advisory committee.
  • Serve as a liaison between the committee and interested consumers, associations, coalitions, and consumer organizations.
  • Facilitate dialogue with the advisory committees on scientific issues that affect consumers.

To qualify, a consumer representative must be able to analyze scientific data, understand research design, discuss benefits and risks, and evaluate the safety and efficacy of products under review. It is also essential that the representative have an affiliation with and/or active participation in consumer or community-based organizations.

Industry 

Almost without exception, FDA's Advisory Committees have industry representatives who act on behalf of regulated industry at committee meetings. The representative discusses an issue before the committee from the perspective of the affected industry and not as an individual from a specific sponsor. Representatives are non-voting members who usually serve a four-year term. Selection is achieved by a process conducted by a committee of peers. The nomination process is described in the Code of Federal Regulations (21 C.F.R. 14.84 (d)).

Patient Representatives

If you would like to nominate a colleague or yourself, please forward the following information to the address listed below.

  • Complete curriculum vitae of each nominee
  • Current business and/or home address, telephone number, and e-mail
  • The advisory committee(s) or advisory panel(s) for which the nominee is recommended
  • A written confirmation that the nominee is aware of the nomination (unless self-nominated)

Food and Drug Administration
Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff 
10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Bldg. 32, Rm. 5101
Silver Spring, Maryland 20993-0002

You may also e-mail the information to cv@oc.fda.gov

For more information, call (301) 796-8220.

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