US Senate confirms Indian-American physician as White House drug czar

Dr Rahul Gupta, a veteran Indian-American major care doctor, has been confirmed by the US Senate because the Director of National Drug Control Policy, making him the primary medical physician to ever lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

Dr Gupta, who lately served as scientific Professor within the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, was confirmed for the place by the US Senate on Thursday.“As a practicing physician and former health official who has served in rural communities, I have seen firsthand the heartbreaking toll of addiction and overdose in our communities, but I have also seen how we can save lives if we understand the individuals behind the statistics and meet them where they are,” stated Dr Gupta in an announcement issued by the White House on Friday.He stated he would work diligently to advance high-quality, methods to make communities more healthy.ALSO READ | US President Joe Biden nominates Indian-American to key place in Pentagon“President Biden has made clear that addressing addiction and the overdose epidemic is an urgent priority. As Director, I will diligently work to advance high-quality, data-driven strategies to make our communities healthier and safer,” he stated.He most lately served because the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Interim Chief Science Officer and Senior Vice President at March of Dimes, a US nonprofit organisation that works to enhance the well being of moms and infants.In his position, Dr Gupta supplied strategic oversight for March of Dimes’ home and international medical and public well being efforts.He lately served as scientific Professor within the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine in addition to adjunct professor within the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership within the School of Public Health at West Virginia University and visiting school at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the White House stated.A working towards major care doctor of 25 years, Dr. Gupta started his profession in personal apply in an underserved group of fewer than 2,000 residents. He has since served below two Governors because the Health Commissioner of West Virginia.As the state’s Chief Health Officer, he led the opioid disaster response efforts and launched a lot of pioneering public well being initiatives, together with the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Birthscore program to establish high-risk infants.Dr. Gupta additionally led the event of the state’s Zika motion plan and its preparedness efforts in the course of the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak, it stated.ALSO READ | Five Indian-Americans characteristic in Forbes checklist of ‘America’s Richest Self-Made Women’A nationwide and international thought chief and a driver of revolutionary public insurance policies on well being points, Dr. Gupta serves as an advisor to a number of organisations and activity forces on native, nationwide and worldwide public well being coverage.The son of an Indian diplomat, Rahul was born in India and grew up within the suburbs of Washington, DC. At age 21, he accomplished medical faculty on the University of Delhi, the White House stated.He earned a grasp’s diploma in public well being from the University of Alabama-Birmingham and a world grasp’s of enterprise administration diploma from the London School of Business and Finance.He is married to Dr. Seema Gupta, a doctor within the Veterans Administration for over a decade. They are the proud dad and mom of an identical twin sons, Arka and Drew, the White House stated.