Namandjé Bumpus, Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board since March 2025. Dr. Bumpus currently serves as the Chief Scientific and Innovation Officer of Charles River Laboratories, a position she has held since January 2026. She previously served as the FDA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner from February 2024 until December 2024. She began her career at the FDA as Chief Scientist in August 2022 before being promoted to Principal Deputy Commissioner. As Principal Deputy Commissioner, she oversaw the agency’s operations and worked closely with the FDA Commissioner to develop and implement key public health initiatives. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Bumpus was on the faculty at Johns Hopkins from 2010 to 2022, where she rose through the ranks to ultimately serve as the E.K. Marshall and Thomas H. Maren Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 2020 to 2022. At Hopkins, Dr. Bumpus also served as associate dean for basic research. Her research expertise is in pharmacology, pharmacogenetics, and bioanalytical chemistry. Prior to becoming a faculty member at Hopkins, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. Dr. Bumpus earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Occidental College. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
