Dr. Namandjé N. Bumpus served as the FDA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner until December 31, 2024, after joining the agency in August 2022 as Chief Scientist. As Principal Deputy Commissioner she played a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s strategic direction and driving its day-to-day operations. She worked closely with the FDA Commissioner to spearhead key public health initiatives, strengthening regulatory frameworks, modernizing enterprise systems, and enhancing laboratory testing capabilities. She was also one of the foremost drivers of strategy for integration of AI into regulatory science at the agency. Prior to the FDA, Dr. Bumpus was an endowed professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she also served as an associate dean. She earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Michigan and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute. Her prior research has spanned across drug metabolism, drug-induced toxicity, mass spectrometry, and infectious disease pharmacology. Dr. Bumpus has received several honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award, the John J. Abel Award, and the Leon I. Goldberg Award, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
