Commissioner
Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Office of the Commissioner
9 reports
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Center-Based Regulatory Organization within HHS
Government · Hybrid structure · 18K employees · Silver Spring, MD
9
Agency head span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 10)
9
Avg span
wide
2
Max depth
2 levels
Interactive org chart
U.S. Food and Drug Administration organizational chart
Explore the agency leadership model, component structure, and reporting layers from official public sources.
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The FDA is organized around specialized regulatory centers overseen by the Commissioner, reflecting its science-driven, product-focused public health mission within HHS. Organizational information sourced from official FDA.gov pages.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Scenario views in the chart
- Add Cross-Center AI and Data Office Model the addition of a centralized AI and data analytics office under the Office of the Commissioner to support all regulatory centers.
- Move Oncology Center Under CDER Evaluate the impact of aligning the Oncology Center of Excellence more directly under the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Atlas work this supports
- Compare public operating models Use this official-source baseline to compare agencies, components, reporting layers, and field-office networks.
- Model vacancies and transitions Create planning scenarios for acting leaders, new offices, component moves, and cross-agency coordination changes.
- Keep an official source trail Track source URLs, leadership updates, and agency structure changes in one Atlas workspace for review.
The people
Key leaders and offices
10 senior leadership roles or offices from official public sources. Use this section as a current agency-leadership index, not a private-company filing table.
Office of the Commissioner
Office Head
Office of the Commissioner
0 reports
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Center Director
CDER
0 reports
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Center Director
CBER
0 reports
Center for Devices and Radiological Health
Center Director
CDRH
0 reports
Human Foods Program
Program Head
Human Foods Program
0 reports
Center for Tobacco Products
Center Director
CTP
0 reports
Center for Veterinary Medicine
Center Director
CVM
0 reports
Office of Inspections and Investigations
Office Director
OII
0 reports
Oncology Center of Excellence
Center Director
OCE
0 reports
The operating model
How U.S. Food and Drug Administration divides the work
4 offices, branches, or components organize the agency mission. Tile size scales with estimated staff where public estimates exist.
Office of the Commissioner
1K employees
p1
Central leadership, policy, strategy, and coordination office for the FDA.
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
5K employees
p3
Regulates prescription and over-the-counter drugs for human use.
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
2K employees
p4
Regulates biological products including vaccines, blood, and gene therapies.
Human Foods Program
3K employees
p6
Oversees food safety and nutrition policy for human food products.
The agency brief
What this U.S. agency structure tells us
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal regulatory agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Led by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the FDA operates through a center-based structure in which major product domains—drugs, biologics, medical devices, foods, tobacco, veterinary products, and oncology—are regulated by specialized centers. This structure concentrates scientific, regulatory, and compliance authority within domain-focused centers while maintaining centralized policy, strategy, and coordination through the Office of the Commissioner. The FDA’s public mission is to protect public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of foods, drugs, medical devices, biologics, and related products, as well as advancing public health innovation. Structurally distinctive features include cross-cutting programs such as the Oncology Center of Excellence and the Office of Inspections and Investigations, which integrate activities across multiple centers.
- Center-based regulatory model
- Cross-cutting Oncology Center of Excellence
- Dedicated Office of Inspections and Investigations
The comparison
Compare with related agencies
Compared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which focuses on public health surveillance and disease prevention, the FDA exercises direct regulatory and approval authority over products entering the U.S. market. Relative to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is primarily a research …
Senior office count
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10
Reporting depth
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
2 levels
3 levels
3 levels
Current signals
What changed recently
No specific leadership changes documented in the provided official source page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who leads the Food and Drug Administration?
The Food and Drug Administration is led by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, who heads the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
What does the Food and Drug Administration do?
The FDA protects public health by regulating foods, drugs, medical devices, biologics, tobacco products, and veterinary products to ensure they are safe, effective, and secure.
What are the major offices or components of the Food and Drug Administration?
Major components include the Office of the Commissioner and regulatory centers such as CDER, CBER, CDRH, the Human Foods Program, and other specialized centers.
Who does the Food and Drug Administration report to?
The FDA is an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
How can this org chart be used for planning or comparison?
The org chart helps policymakers and analysts compare regulatory scope, identify coordination points across centers, and plan reorganizations or cross-cutting initiatives.
Sources
Reference
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Creately. "U.S. Food and Drug Administration Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/food-and-drug-administration/.Permanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/food-and-drug-administration/ · last updated 2026-04-01