PATH’s Chief Scientific Officer accepts role with FDA agency, CBER

PATH’s Chief Scientific Officer and Head of PATH’s Center for Vaccine Introduction and Access (CVIA), David C. Kaslow, MD, has been named the Director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), an agency within the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). The mission of OVRR is to protect and enhance public health by assuring the availability of safe and effective vaccines, allergenic extracts, and other related products.

Kaslow will assume this role on October 11, 2022, from Peter Marks, MD, PhD, acting Director of OVRR. Marks is also the current Director of CBER. Kaslow’s final day with PATH will be October 7, 2022.

“David has been an incredible leader to the PATH team for the entirety of his decade-long tenure. His work has led to thousands of improved lives and many more averted illnesses and deaths,” said Nikolaj Gilbert, President and CEO of PATH. “His expertise and scientific acumen are outshined only by his compassion, respect for his colleagues within and outside PATH, and his reputation as a principled leader and public health advocate. I am grateful to have worked beside him and look forward to championing this next phase of his career.”

Kaslow has more than 35 years of experience in vaccine research and development. As Head of CVIA at PATH, Kaslow led the work to accelerate the development and introduction of lifesaving vaccines for the women, children, and communities around the world who need them most.

He joined PATH in 2012 as Director of PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), leading the development of well-tolerated and effective vaccines against malaria. While at PATH he also supported teams that developed vaccines for enteric and diarrheal diseases, including rotavirus, typhoid, shigella, and enterotoxigenic E. coli; for respiratory infections and maternal immunization, including pneumococcus, meningococcus, group B streptococcus, and respiratory syncytial virus; for emerging diseases, including Nipah and COVID-19; and for polio and human papillomavirus. Prior to joining PATH, he was a Vice President of Vaccines and Infectious Disease at Merck Research Laboratories, while serving in key advisory positions with MVI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Prior to working at Merck and in biotech, Kaslow founded the Malaria Vaccine Development Unit at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). While working at NIH, Kaslow completed the molecular cloning and characterization of several proteins involved in malaria parasite transmission to mosquitoes. He also has directed product development, including field studies, of several malaria vaccine candidates. Outside the malaria field, Kaslow has contributed to the vaccine application of tools originally developed for gene therapy. He holds or co-holds more than a dozen patents and has published more than 250 scientific articles.

“The past decade in global heath has been transformative and much has been accomplished in developing and implementing innovative life-saving interventions through public-private partnerships and civil societies, such as PATH,” said Kaslow. “The last few years have also highlighted the disparities and challenges that exist in the United States, and the needs in the public sector to serve communities close to home.”

“PATH has a great opportunity, as they seek to fill the Chief Scientific Officer position,” Kaslow suggested, “to recruit from a growing cadre of outstanding scientific leaders who have been born and raised in the countries and communities that are the focus of PATH’s mission. A CSO with this vital, lived experience will ensure the relevance of CVIA and PATH in the years to come.”

PATH will conduct a competitive, global recruitment for the Chief Scientific Officer position. Candidates based in the African and Asian continents will be given priority. Visit the PATH Careers site for more information.