Hilary D. Marston

Hilary Marston, M.D., M.P.H., is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the FDA. The CMO is the primary clinical advisor to the Commissioner and oversees the Office of Clinical Policy and Programs (OCPP). In this capacity, the CMO leads programs and cross-cutting initiatives that support the FDA’s centers in making effective, safe, and innovative medical products available to the American people. These include efforts to ensure timely review of combination products, incentive programs to promote interventions for rare diseases, and dedicated labeling for pediatric patients. OCPP also coordinates and supports patient engagement activities across the medical product centers to foster awareness and collaboration with patients, their advocates, and the FDA, with the goal to strengthen and modernize key functions to enhance communication to stakeholders and further elevate the role of patients in the FDA’s work in medical product development.

Before joining the FDA, Dr. Marston was Senior Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response on the White House COVID-19 Response Team, overseeing donations of COVID-19 vaccines to countries in need. Prior to this, Dr. Marston was the Director for Medical Biopreparedness and Response at the U.S. National Security Council, leading policy considerations related to medical countermeasure development and policy matters related to pandemic preparedness. Previously, Dr. Marston served as a Medical Officer and Policy Advisor for Pandemic Preparedness focusing on emerging infectious disease preparedness and response at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health. In this role, she coordinated NIAID’s response to outbreaks including Zika, Ebola and COVID-19.

Dr. Marston trained in Internal Medicine and Global Health Equity at Brigham & Women's Hospital, during which time she worked with Partners in Health and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. She completed her M.P.H. at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Before her medical training, Dr. Marston worked for McKinsey & Company and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a Program Officer and Special Assistant to the Co-Chair.