A research professor and food safety expert in the School of Public Health and Health Services has been named a senior adviser to the head of the Food and Drug Administration, the organization announced this week.

Professor Michael Taylor will serve as an adviser to Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret Hamburg and will collaborate with other FDA offices and the Obama Administration in planning future food safety legislation and identifying problems in national food programs, according to a news release from the FDA.

Taylor previously worked for the FDA as a staff attorney in 1976 and later as the deputy commissioner for policy. He has also worked in multiple food and agricultural organizations such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monsanto Corp., and Resources for the Future. He started teaching at GW in 2007.