David A. Kessler

David A. Kessler
Kessler in April 2009
Head of Operation Warp Speed
In office January 20, 2021 – February 24, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Moncef Slaoui
Succeeded by	Gustave F. Perna (Chief Operating Officer of COVID-19 Response for Vaccine and Therapeutics)
Co-Chair of the COVID-19 Advisory Board
In office November 9, 2020 – January 20, 2021 Serving with Vivek Murthy and Marcella Nunez-Smith
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
17th Commissioner of Food and Drugs
In office November 8, 1990 – February 28, 1997
President	George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Frank Young
Succeeded by	Jane E. Henney
Personal details
Born	David Aaron Kessler (1951-05-13) May 13, 1951 (age 72) New York City, U.S.
Education	Amherst College (BA) University of Chicago (JD) Harvard University (MD)

David Aaron Kessler (born May 13, 1951) is an American pediatrician, attorney, author, and administrator (both academic and governmental) serving as Chief Science Officer of the White House COVID-19 Response Team since 2021. Kessler was the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from November 8, 1990, to February 28, 1997. He co-chaired the Biden-Harris transition’s COVID-19 Advisory Board from November 2020 to January 2021 and was the head of Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government program to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments, from January to February 2021.^[1][2]