Joshua Sharfstein Co-Principal Investigator

Joshua Sharfstein is the Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Sharfstein is also professor of the practice in the Department of Health Policy and Management.  Sharfstein was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in January 2011. As Secretary of DHMH, Sharfstein led efforts to modernize Maryland’s all-payer system for hospital payment.  In March 2009, President Obama appointed Sharfstein to serve as the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency’s second highest-ranking position. From December 2005 through March 2009, Sharfstein served as the Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore, Maryland.  He began working on health and social policy matters as an advisor to longtime California Congressman Henry A. Waxman.  Sharfstein also serves as a member of the editorial board at the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Sharfstein received his MD from Harvard Medical School.