SAN DIEGO, Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), the genomics-based, technology-driven company, announced today that Sally Howard, J.D., has been hired as Head of Regulatory Affairs and Policy. Howard, who has more than two decades of health policy and regulatory expertise, will lead all efforts related to federal and state regulatory oversight for HLI.
Howard comes to HLI from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where she served most recently as Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff to the FDA Commissioner. In this role, Howard coordinated the FDA's response to rapidly emerging issues such as bacteria resistant infections from medical equipment and response to adverse events from compounded drugs.
She also spent two years as FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning and Legislation, during which time she directed the team implementing the White House's Precision Medicine Initiative. She and her team were responsible for developing a standards based approach for ensuring accuracy of genomic tests, and the use of genomic data and databases for clinical and diagnostic use. She was also a key leader on FDA legislative initiatives such as the 21st Century Cures initiative which seeks to modernize the approach to patient centered drug development, and the development of biomarkers.
Prior to her role at the FDA, Howard spent two years as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she worked directly with the Secretary and senior agency and administration leadership to develop and implement policy priorities including the Affordable Care Act and new standards for Electronic Health Records.
Howard brings extensive legal expertise including from her role as Deputy General Counsel at HHS and Chief Counsel to the Office of then Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Howard spent ten years in private practice in Kansas, where she litigated a variety of health and medical issues including, medical malpractice, physician licensure issues and risk management efforts.
"Sally Howard is one of the most accomplished regulatory, health policy, and legal leaders whose specific expertise in the genomic regulatory landscape will be invaluable to HLI," said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO, HLI. "As our company moves rapidly toward product development and launch of a variety of genomic-driven technologies, it is essential that we are working collaboratively and responsibly from a regulatory perspective. We look forward to utilizing the breadth and depth of Sally's knowledge to ensure genomic advances will revolutionize the practice of medicine."
Howard earned a B.A. in History and English from Kansas State University and her J.D. from the University of Kansas, School of Law.
About Human Longevity, Inc.
Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) is the genomics-based, technology-driven company creating the world's largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI recently launched the first Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research project that has the potential to transform healthcare. The Health Nucleus platform uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning combined with a comprehensive curation of personal health history to deliver the most complete picture of individual health. To learn more, please visit http://www.humanlongevity.com and http://www.healthnucleus.com.
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SOURCE Human Longevity, Inc.