The FDA has named Katherine Szarama, PhD, acting director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, an agency spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s.
Dr. Szarama succeeds Vinay Prasad, MD, who left the agency at the end of April to return to the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Prasad joined the agency in 2025 on a one-year sabbatical and led several initiatives, including a 2-to-1 trial requirement for drug approvals, a national priority review system and a new COVID-19 vaccine framework.
Dr. Szarama previously served as deputy director of CBER and joined the FDA late last year after roles at CMS, the Emerson Collective, Arnold Ventures and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, according to her LinkedIn page.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, said the agency is continuing its search for a permanent CBER director but did not provide a timeline, according to an April 30 report from Politico.
Ms. Szarama takes over amid a wave of leadership turnover across HHS that saw new leaders installed at the FDA, National Institutes of Health, CMS and CDC in 2025. The FDA’s workforce has decreased roughly 20% since HHS began restructuring in early 2025, with similar reductions at the CDC and NIH. The Trump administration’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget would cut HHS funding by another $15.8 billion.
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