Forfa named new director of FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine

The Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 17 announced the appointment of Tracey Forfa as director of the agency’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, effective Feb. 26.

A 30-year veteran of the FDA, Forfa has been acting director of the CVM since December 2022, when previous director Dr. Steven Solomon retired.

“I know she will continue to apply the Center’s guiding principles: protecting public health; regulating based on the best evidence and science; leveraging and collaboration; operating transparently; continuous quality improvement; and strong stakeholder engagement,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.

Forfa has been with the CVM since 2002 and was appointed deputy director of the center in 2008. She previously served as acting director in 2016 and did so again in early 2023 prior to her permanent appointment.

Additionally, Forfa was acting ombudsman for CVM from 2019-22.

Forfa, who holds a law degree, joined the FDA in 1993 as a member of the regulations and policy staff at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, working on issues such as human tissue and blood banking.

She is the first nonveterinarian to hold the CVM directorship. However, as recently determined by Commissioner Califf, when the center director is not a veterinarian, the agency soon will name a chief veterinary officer to advise on a wide variety of veterinary issues.

Dr. Solomon had served as FDA CVM director since January 2017.

Dr. Solomon is a 1980 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and holds a master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

He practiced large animal medicine for 10 years prior to joining the FDA in 1990 as a veterinary medical officer. By 2013, he had risen to become the FDA’s deputy associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.