FDA says goodbye to Dr Linda Tollefson and hello to Erik Mettler

Next we move to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is saying goodbye to Rear Admiral Linda Tollefson as deputy in the Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Tollefson, who retired on March 1, started her career at FDA as an epidemiologist in 1984 in The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and quickly rose through the ranks to become the chief of the epidemiology branch before going to Center for Veterinary Medicine to become director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance and later the deputy center director. 

She was then promoted to assistant commissioner for science and served as the chair of the Research in Human Subjects Committee tasked with ensuring that FDA-sponsored clinical studies meet appropriate ethical standards.

Dr. Tollefson was director of the FDA’s Europe office from 2009-2012, where she worked with the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency, the European Food Safety Authority, and other agencies, before becoming Associate Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine.

FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Dr Michael Taylor said:  “Dr. Tollefson has been a tremendous resource to our program, providing seasoned advice to me, working closely with our centers, and taking on some of our most complex policy, scientific, and management issues.”​

Following her departure, Erik Mettler, previously director of the Office of Resource Planning and Strategic Management, has become acting associate commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.

Roberta Wagner, CFSAN’s deputy director for regulatory affairs, has taken Dr. Tollefson’s place as the co-chair of the FSMA Operations Team (FOT) steering committee.