Joshua Sharfstein

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, is the Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement for the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He oversees the Office of Public Health Practice and Training, the General Preventive Medicine Residency, and major practice activities, including collaboration with public health agencies. He also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management.

Dr. Sharfstein is also the Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, overseeing implementation of its key components. Previously, he served as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Commissioner of Health for Baltimore City, and health policy advisor for Congressman Henry A. Waxman.

In 2008, 2008, Sharfstein served as leader of the Obama transition team on the FDA, he was appointed by President Obama in 2009 as Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA.

Sharfstein received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1991. He attended Harvard Medical School and did his residency in pediatrics through a joint program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center, completing a special pediatrics fellowship with Boston University.