Brett Giroir | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| 16thAssistant Secretary for Health | |
| In office 15 February 2018 – 19 January 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Secretary | Alex Azar |
| Preceded by | Howard Koh |
| Succeeded by | Rachel Levine |
| Commissioner of Food and Drugs | |
| Acting 6 November 2019 – 17 December 2019 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Norman Sharpless (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Hahn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-11-04)4 November 1960 (age 65) Marrero, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of Texas Southwestern (MD) |
| Signature |  |
| Uniformed service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps |
| Service years | 2018–2021 |
| Rank | Admiral |
Brett Paul Giroir (pronouncedjir-WAH) (born 4 November 1960)[1] is an Americanpediatrician. He was formerly the U.S.assistant secretary for health, afour-staradmiral in theU.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and an actingFood and Drug Administration commissioner.
From 2004 to 2008, Giroir served as the deputy director, and then a director, ofDARPA's Defense Science Office, vice chancellor for theTexas A&M University System from 2008 to 2013, and as the chief executive officer of theTexas A&M Health Science Center from 2013 to 2015.[2]
Giroir starting in 2016 served as president and CEO of ViraCyte, LLC, a clinical-stagebiopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing cellularimmunotherapies for severe infections. He also served as a senior fellow at theTexas Medical Center Health Policy Institute and strategic advisor for the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute (TMCII). He was a member of the Texas Task Force for Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response, and an adjunct professor of pediatrics at theBaylor College of Medicine in Houston.[3]
Giroir served as the ActingCommissioner of Food and Drugs in November and December 2019, whileStephen Hahn's nomination was pending in theSenate.
Giroir graduated from all-male CatholicJesuit High School inNew Orleans, Louisiana,[4] where he was also served as adrill team commander in theU.S. Marine CorpsJROTC.[5] He received his A.B. degree inbiology fromHarvard University,magna cum laude, in 1982.[6][7] He was the first to attend college in his family.[8] Giroir earned his M.D. from theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) inDallas, Texas,[6][9] in 1986, inducted into theAlpha Omega Alpha honor society, and served his residency (1986–1989), chief residency (1989–1990) and fellowship (1990–1991) inpediatrics at the medical center, atChildren's Medical Center Dallas andParkland Memorial Hospital.[10] Giroir received his post-doctoral training at theHoward Hughes Medical Institute in Dallas, from 1991 to 1993.[11][12]
Following his fellowship, Giroir served on the faculty at UTSW (1993–2004),[13] becoming atenured professor. He was the inaugural holder of the Associates First Capital Corporation Distinguished Chair in Pediatrics,[14] and the Kathryne and Gene Bishop Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Care.[15] His administrative positions included director of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine[16] and director of the pediatric intensive care units at Children's Medical Center and Parkland. In 2000, Giroir was named the associate dean for Clinical Affairs at UTSW, while taking on the role as the inaugural chief medical officer atChildren's Medical Center Dallas. Giroir led a medical staff of over 750 physicians. His research focused on severe life-threateninginfectious diseases, includingmeningococcal disease ("the college meningitis"). Giroir's research was featured on aPBSNOVA entitled "Killer Disease on Campus"[17] which originally aired in 2002. Giroir has published over 85 academic articles, chapters, and books on a variety of topics including host-pathogen interactions and novel therapies for life-threatening infectious diseases.[18]
While continuing to serve full-time at UTSW, Giroir was a member of the Defense Sciences Research Council (DSRC, 1999–2004), an academic and technical assessment council charged with assistingDARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in developing novel, world-changing R&D initiatives. Giroir co-chaired or participated in studies related tobiological weapons decontamination and universal medial countermeasures to biological threats during his appointment with the DSRC.[19]
In 2004, Giroir accepted a full-time position at DARPA as deputy director of theDefense Sciences Office (DSO), and then as its director from 2007 to 2008. Among the programs begun during this time were a biodefense thrust known as Accelerating Critical Therapeutics and programs in fundamental mathematics, engineering, and human performance. During Giroir's tenure, the DSO developed various biodefense programs and other programs related to biosecurity with the goal of developing new technologies and approaches to be transitioned for translation by other agencies.[19]
Giroir was also selected as a member of the Defense Sciences Study Group,[20] a two-year program to develop emerging leaders in science and technology. He was a member of the external advisory board,NASA National Center for Space Biological Technologies (2003–2007), and the chair on the Chemical and Biological Defense Panel (2009–2010) for the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (TRAC).[19]
Giroir served as vice chancellor for research (2008–2011), vice chancellor for strategic initiatives (2011–2013), and executive vice president and CEO of theTexas A&M Health Science Center (2013–2015). He held professor appointments in the Texas A&M College of Medicine and theDwight Look College of Engineering, and an adjunct professor appointment atThe Bush School of Government and Public Service. Giroir's focus was leading the development of the biotechnology initiatives within theTexas A&M University System and the Biocorridor in Brazos County.[21] In this regard, Giroir was the lead investigator and program director for the design, development, and implementation of the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing (NCTM), abiopharmaceutical research and development program atTexas A&M University.[22]
Giroir from 2014 to 2015 chaired the independent Blue Ribbon Panel for theVeterans Choice Act, whose assessment and recommendations to reform theVeterans Administration Health System were delivered toCongress and SecretaryRobert McDonald in September 2015. He testified to theHouse Committee on Veterans Affairs the following month and communicated priorities for VA reform.[23]
Giroir was told on 1 June 2015, that he had 30 minutes to resign or he would be fired.[24][2][25][26] Giroir chose to resign, after eight years of work on several vaccine projects.[2][25][26] The notification stated that he had to leave the building immediately, and would no longer have access to his email.[2] His annualperformance evaluation at Texas A&M said that he was "more interested in promoting yourself" than the health science center where he worked. He got low marks on being a "team player."[27][28][29][30] Robin Robinson, who was the director of the federalBiomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and oversaw a major grant for the Texas vaccine project, said Giroir "over-promised and under-delivered."[31] Texas A&M Health Science Center doubled its NIH funding during Giroir's tenure, though the university stated that most of the credit for that was not the function of the work of Giroir, but rather of others, and there was concern that plans to build a teaching hospital on theCollege Station campus never materialized.[2]
After resigning from Texas A&M, Giroir founded sole proprietorship Health Science and Biosecurity Partners,[3][32] a consulting firm focused on life science innovation, strategy, and investments.[33]
Starting in November 2016, Giroir served as president and CEO of ViraCyte, LLC, a clinical-stagebiopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing cellularimmunotherapies for severe infections.[34]
PresidentDonald Trump nominated Giroir for appointment as acommissioned officer, and appointment to the rank ofadmiral in theU.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, while serving as the assistant secretary for health, on 25 May 2017.[35] In August 2017, theSenate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held up Giroir's confirmation,[36] due to skepticism over his testimony that he would supportwomen's health programs.[36][37] The Senate returned his nomination back to the President on 3 January 2018, without action.[35] He was renominated on 8 January 2018,[38] and confirmed viavoice vote on 7 February 2018.[37][38]
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Giroir received hiscommission and four-star rank in thecommissioned corps, a week after he assumed the office of assistant secretary on 15 February 2018.[39][40][41] He was also appointed by thesecretary to the additional role as mental health senior adviser on 29 March 2018.[42]
In April 2018, SenatorRon Wyden (D-Oregon) criticized Giroir for neglecting to address the role of drug companies in sparking theopioid crisis.[43] In September 2018, SenatorClaire McCaskill (D-Missouri) wrote to Health SecretaryAlex Azar: "At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance in April 2018, I asked Admiral Brett P. Giroir ... whether HHS had demanded explanations from pharmaceutical manufacturers that had raised prices for the opioid-reversal drugnaloxone. Admiral Giroir stated he had not asked the companies to explain their dramatic price increases, but promised he would 'get back to [me] on whether [he] could write a letter.' I am not aware, however, of outreach from HHS to my office on this issue."[44]
In November 2018, Giroir wrote a letter in which he said that the agency was seeking to end theuse of fetal tissue in taxpayer-funded biomedical research involving developingvaccines and researching theZika virus, and treatments forAlzheimer's disease andParkinson's, if it can find "adequate alternatives", and said the HHS was "pro-life and pro-science".[45] TheNational Institutes of Health at the time funded more than $100 million in research drawing on fetal tissue.[45]
In May 2020, SenatorMitt Romney (R-Utah) criticized Giroir at aSenate health committee hearing for his participation in a White House event celebrating that the U.S. had conducted morecoronavirus tests than South Korea.[46] Romney said the difference was that South Korea tested early, and the U.S. was catching up—which could result in many more American deaths.[46] Romney said: "I understand that politicians are going to frame data in a way that is most positive politically. Of course, I don't expect that from admirals. But you ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak, while we treaded water during February and March.... The fact is their test numbers are going down, down, down now, because they don't have the kind of outbreak we have. Ours are going up, up, up...."[46][47]
On 1 November 2019, HHS SecretaryAlex Azar announced that Giroir would serve as ActingCommissioner of Food and Drugs untilStephen Hahn, whose nomination for the same position was announced on the same day, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.[48][49][50] SenatorPatty Murray (D-Washington) said that she was "alarmed" by Giroir's "track record of letting ideology drive decisions at the expense of women and families."[51] Giroir served as Acting Commissioner in November and December 2019, while Hahn's nomination was pending in the Senate.[52][53]
On 15 November 2018, President Trump nominated Giroir to serve the additional role of representative of the United States on the executive board of theWorld Health Organization.[54][55] The nomination was returned to the president on 3 January 2019, without action by theSenate.[55] He was renominated on January 16, 2019,[56] but that nomination was also returned to the president on 3 January 2020, without action.[56] He was renominated for a third time on 18 March 2020.[57] Giroir was finally confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on 7 May 2020.[57] He served on the executive board, for the remainder of the current three-year term cycle, which expired in January 2021.[58]
Giroir resigned from his government positions on 19 January 2021, as expected from all appointed government leadership, in order to facilitate a smooth transition to the newBiden administration.[59][60]
Giroir served on the scientific advisory boards of the Cancer Moonshots Program atMD Anderson Cancer Center, the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at theUniversity of Michigan, the Institute for Patient Safety at theUniversity of North Texas Health Science Center, and was a member of the board of directors of Esperance Pharmaceuticals[61] and BioHouston.[62]
He appeared before theHouse Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities hearing on Biodefense: Worldwide Threats and Countermeasure Efforts for the Department of Defense in October 2013.[63]
On 6 October 2014,Governor Rick Perry announced the creation of the Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response to assess and enhance the state's existing capabilities to prepare for and respond to pandemic diseases such as theEbola virus. The Governor named Giroir as director of the task force to lead a team of experts in epidemiology and infectious disease.[64]
Giroir is the recipient of the following awards and decorations:[65]
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| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary for Health 2018–2021 | Succeeded by |
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