Jane Ellen Henney (born 1947) is an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who was the first woman to serve as commissioner of the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

. Appointed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, she served at the FDA from 1999 to 2001.

Education and career

Jane Henney was born in

Woodburn, Indiana Woodburn is a city in Maumee Township, Allen County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,520 at the 2010 census, making it the smallest in state as Cannelton had a population of 1,563 in the 2010 Census. Geography Woodburn is located a ...

. She received her undergraduate training at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, an MD degree from

Indiana University School of Medicine The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major multi-campus medical school in the state of Indiana. There are nine campuses throughout the state; the principal research and medical center is located on the Indiana University–Purdu ...

and did postgraduate work at the

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. Trained as a medical

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

, she joined the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

in 1976, working in the Cancer Therapy and Evaluation Program. Prior to her appointment as commissioner, Henney had worked at the FDA from 1992 to 1994 as deputy commissioner for operations under then-commissioner

David Aaron Kessler David Aaron Kessler (born May 13, 1951) is an American pediatrician, attorney, author, and administrator (both academic and governmental) serving as Chief Science Officer of the White House COVID-19 Response Team since 2021. Kessler was the commi ...

, and then at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, where she was vice president of the health sciences center. After leaving the FDA she joined the board of directors of the pharmaceutical company

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

. A significant and far reaching decision by the FDA under her tenure, was the ban on supplements and natural products that contain

lovastatin Lovastatin, sold under the brand name Mevacor among others, is a statin medication, to treat hypercholesterolemia, high blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Its use is recommended together with lifestyle changes. It ...

, effectively handing exclusivity of cholesterol lowering compounds to pharmaceutical companies.

benefited directly from this decision this removed a cheap, natural product, from competing with their own statin

rosuvastatin Rosuvastatin, sold under the brand name Crestor among others, is a statin medication, used to prevent cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and treat abnormal lipids. It is recommended to be used together with dietary changes, exercise, ...

. She was named senior vice president and provost for health affairs at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

in 2003.

References

* Charles Marwick, "Jane E. Henney, MD, Is New FDA Commissioner", JAMA. 1998;280:1731-1732.

External links

National library of Medicine about Jane Ellen Henney

Jane E. Henney
at the F.D.A. website * Living people 1947 births American oncologists Women oncologists Manchester University (Indiana) alumni Indiana University School of Medicine alumni University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center alumni University of New Mexico faculty University of Cincinnati faculty American women physicians Commissioners of the Food and Drug Administration Clinton administration personnel 21st-century American women Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{US-gov-bio-stub