Joshua Sharfstein
| Joshua Sharfstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Harvard College |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene |
| Relatives | Steven Sharfstein |
| Medical career | |
| Institutions | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |
Joshua M. Sharfstein (born 1969) is a physician and the current Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and Training at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He was Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene up until 2014, and was principal deputy commissioner of the U.S Food and Drug Administration until he stepped down from his post on January 5, 2011. He is the former health commissioner of Baltimore, Maryland.
A native of Maryland, Sharfstein graduated from Harvard College in 1991. In the fall of 1992, he entered Harvard Medical School, from where he graduated in 1996. He did his residency in pediatrics through a joint program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center, completing a special pediatrics fellowship with Boston University.
Sharfstein then left Boston for Washington, D. C., where he joined the Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee and served as health policy advisor to Congressman Henry A. Waxman. Among the issues he worked on were HIV/AIDS, oversight of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), tobacco, and public health.
After the election of Barack Obama in 2008, Sharfstein served as leader of the Obama transition team on the FDA. Since that time, media reports have indicated he is a finalist to become FDA commissioner in the new administration. In 2009, He was appointed by President Obama as Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA.
Sharfstein, whose early work in politics included work for Public Citizen's Health Watch, has been a frequent critic of drug industry marketing practices—going all the way back to his days in medical training. During his time as public health commissioner of Baltimore, he led the effort to restrict the marketing of pediatric cold remedies.
...
Wikipedia