P99-22 FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Media: 301-827-6242
October 4, 1999
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
As Director of Food Safety, Dr. Alpert will provide leadership for the President's Food Safety Initiative. As the Center's senior physician, she will also provide oversight for all medical and clinical aspects of food safety across the broad range of FDA's food safety responsibilities.
"As a pediatrician with a strong background in both infectious diseases and in microbiology, Dr. Alpert brings unique skills and experience to this critical job," said Levitt. "This means FDA will be bringing a clinical perspective to all facets of its public health mission of ensuring that Americans continue to enjoy a safe food supply," he added.
FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety of all food sold in the U.S., except for meat and poultry--some 78 percent of the food Americans consume.
Dr. Alpert currently serves as Director of the Office of Device Evaluation in FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where she oversees FDA's review of all medical devices. She has held that post since 1993, when she left her previous position as supervisory medical officer in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. She joined the FDA in 1987.
Dr. Alpert has received numerous honors and awards, most recently the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 1998.
A graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, Dr. Alpert received her Ph.D. in medical microbiology from the New York University School of Medicine. She earned her M.D. at the University of Miami School of Medicine and trained in pediatrics at Montefiore Hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her training in pediatric infectious disease at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., as part of a joint program with FDA.
Dr. Alpert will assume her new duties October 25. She replaces Morris Potter, D.V.M., who will leave FDA to become Executive Director of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) and ILSI North America.
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