Why we left the FDA: Six former officials share their stories

VideoSTATus Report Why we left the FDA: Six former officials share their stories ‘I didn’t leave the FDA. The FDA left me’ Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Alex HoganMay 8, 2026 Senior Multimedia Producer Alex Hogan[email protected]Alex Hogan is STAT’s senior multimedia producer and host of STATus Report, STAT’s weekly video series. You can follow him on Bluesky. A year after U.S. DOGE Service cuts shook up the federal government, STAT’s FDA reporter Lizzy Lawrence has been speaking with former officials about their time at the agency. Two weeks ago, I hit the road with Lizzy to interview six of them about what drew them to the agency, the important work they did during their career there, and, ultimately, why they decided to leave during the second Trump administration. In a special road-trip edition of STATus Report, Lizzy and I travel around the leafy suburbs of Washington to bring you first-person testimonies, including the former director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Richard Pazdur; Sheryl Lard-Whiteford, a leader in the FDA’s biologics center; and Julie Tierney, who worked on Operation Warp Speed.Advertisement FDA, Policy, politics Submit a correction requestReprints Alex Hogan Senior Multimedia Producer Alex Hogan is STAT’s senior multimedia producer and host of STATus Report, STAT’s weekly video series. You can follow him on Bluesky. Newsletter Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world every day Recommended Exclusive May 7, 2026 Official leading CDC’s cruise ship program retires D.C. Diagnosis May 7, 2026 STAT Plus: More political interference at the FDA? Advertisement Biotech May 7, 2026 STAT Plus: FDA to reconsider treatment for rare cancer after its surprise rejection A STAT Examination May 7, 2026 STAT Plus: What was lost at the FDA Health May 6, 2026 Trump administration’s drug strategy is at odds with recent actions on funding, policy Subscriber Picks